Tuesday, July 30, 2013

Exodus 16 -- Manna from God

Exodus 16:1 The entire Israelite community departed from Elim and came to the Wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after they had left the land of Egypt. 2 The entire Israelite community grumbled against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. 3 The Israelites said to them, “If only we had died by the Lord’s hand in the land of Egypt, when we sat by pots of meat and ate all the bread we wanted. Instead, you brought us into this wilderness to make this whole assembly die of hunger!”
First they were thirsty.  Now they are hungry.  Didn't the Lord provide them with plenty of water when they were thirsty?  Now they wish they had died in Egypt instead of being hungry in the dessert.  
Exodus 16:4 Then the Lord said to Moses, “I am going to rain bread from heaven for you. The people are to go out each day and gather enough for that day. This way I will test them to see whether or not they will follow My instructions. 5 On the sixth day, when they prepare what they bring in, it will be twice as much as they gather on other days.”
God says he will provide food for the people, just like he provided water.  He has instructed that each person gather enough for what they will eat in one day, except the sixth day.  On the sixth day, they gather enough for two days, since the seventh day is a day of rest.
Exodus 16:6 So Moses and Aaron said to all the Israelites: “This evening you will know that it was the Lord who brought you out of the land of Egypt; 7 in the morning you will see the Lord’s glory because He has heard your complaints about Him. For who are we that you complain about us?” 8 Moses continued, “The Lord will give you meat to eat this evening and more than enough bread in the morning, for He has heard the complaints that you are raising against Him. Who are we? Your complaints are not against us but against the Lord.”
The people grumbled against Moses and Aaron, but they were really angry with God.  Why are they suffering in the dessert?  God should have just killed them in Egypt with the Egyptians.  Moses says God will show them his power by providing food for them everyday.  A physical food to satisfy their physical hunger.  God has also provided us with food as well.  Here in the US, we have the bible and access to many resources for our spiritual hunger.  We can have our spiritual hunger satisfied if we go and take it, just like the Israelites can have their physical hunger satisfied is they just collect the food provided.
Exodus 16:9 Then Moses told Aaron, “Say to the entire Israelite community, ‘Come before the Lord, for He has heard your complaints.’” 10 As Aaron was speaking to the entire Israelite community, they turned toward the wilderness, and there in a cloud the Lord’s glory appeared.
11 The Lord spoke to Moses, 12 “I have heard the complaints of the Israelites. Tell them: At twilight you will eat meat, and in the morning you will eat bread until you are full. Then you will know that I am Yahweh your God.”
13 So at evening quail came and covered the camp. In the morning there was a layer of dew all around the camp. 14 When the layer of dew evaporated, there were fine flakes on the desert surface, as fine as frost on the ground. 15a When the Israelites saw it, they asked one another, “What is it?” because they didn’t know what it was.
What is it?  Manna.  Manna is the Hebrew for "what is it?"  That is why it is called manna today.  
Exodus 16:15b Moses told them, “It is the bread the Lord has given you to eat. 16 This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Gather as much of it as each person needs to eat. You may take two quarts per individual, according to the number of people each of you has in his tent.’”
There was a limit on what they could have.  The people could not be greedy.  That is a sin.  The people had to be fair.  They only could take what they needed... NEEDED... to eat to be full.  Not over full.  Not stuffed.  But satisfied.  Each person was allowed 2 quarts.  Just enough to be full.  It was a test, as we read earlier, to see if the people could obey the Lord.
Exodus 16:17 So the Israelites did this. Some gathered a lot, some a little. 18 When they measured it by quarts, the person who gathered a lot had no surplus, and the person who gathered a little had no shortage. Each gathered as much as he needed to eat. 19 Moses said to them, “No one is to let any of it remain until morning.” 20 But they didn’t listen to Moses; some people left part of it until morning, and it bred worms and smelled. Therefore Moses was angry with them.
Some of the people did not listen.  They did not trust that the Lord would provide for them everyday as he promised.  They saved some to eat for later, so they would not starve. In their minds, they did not want to risk being hungry later.  So they saved some of what they gathered to eat the next time they needed food instead of trusting in God's provision.  This just hit me.  Not trusting in God's provision.  I know I am guilty of that.  Thinking that building a savings fund will somehow keep us financially stable or stocking up on food can help us save in the long run.  I can become too focused on trying to be monetarily comfortable, but I need to trust that the Lord will provide all we need.  If we need anything, the Lord will provide.  It may not be what we want, when we want and how much we want, but he will provide.
Exodus 16:21 They gathered it every morning. Each gathered as much as he needed to eat, but when the sun grew hot, it melted. 22 On the sixth day they gathered twice as much food, four quarts apiece, and all the leaders of the community came and reported this to Moses.23 He told them, “This is what the Lord has said: ‘Tomorrow is a day of complete rest, a holy Sabbath to the Lord. Bake what you want to bake, and boil what you want to boil, and set aside everything left over to be kept until morning.’”
24 So they set it aside until morning as Moses commanded, and it didn’t smell or have any maggots in it. 25 “Eat it today,” Moses said, “because today is a Sabbath to the Lord. Today you won’t find any in the field. 26 For six days you may gather it, but on the seventh day, the Sabbath, there will be none.”
So, just as the Lord rested on the seventh days of created, he also rested on the seventh day of each week the people were in the wilderness.  He did not provide food on the seventh day, but instead he provided enough for two days on the sixth.
Exodus 16:27 Yet on the seventh day some of the people went out to gather, but they did not find any.28 Then the Lord said to Moses, “How long will you refuse to keep My commands and instructions? 29 Understand that the Lord has given you the Sabbath; therefore on the sixth day He will give you two days’ worth of bread. Each of you stay where you are; no one is to leave his place on the seventh day.”
Some people still did not rest.  They tried to go gather even when told there would be nothing to get.
Exodus 16:30 So the people rested on the seventh day.
31 The house of Israel named the substance manna. It resembled coriander seed, was white, and tasted like wafers made with honey. 32 Moses said, “This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Two quarts of it are to be preserved throughout your generations, so that they may see the bread I fed you in the wilderness when I brought you out of the land of Egypt.’”
33 Moses told Aaron, “Take a container and put two quarts of manna in it. Then place it before the Lord to be preserved throughout your generations.” 34 As the Lord commanded Moses, Aaron placed it before the testimony to be preserved.
So two quarts of manna were preserved for all generations.  I wonder where it was put?  It was placed before the testimony to be preserved.  A commentary I read said it was placed in the ark after it was built.  And we know that has disappeared.
Exodus 16:35 The Israelites ate manna for 40 years, until they came to an inhabited land. They ate manna until they reached the border of the land of Canaan. 36 (Two quarts are a tenth of an ephah.)
The Lord was faithful to provide for the Israelites each day what they needed to eat.  He is also faithful to us to provide what we need as well.
Deuteronomy 8:2 Remember that the Lord your God led you on the entire journey these 40 years in the wilderness, so that He might humble you and test you to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep His commands. 3 He humbled you by letting you go hungry; then He gave you manna to eat, which you and your fathers had not known, so that you might learn that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. 4 Your clothing did not wear out, and your feet did not swell these 40 years.
Yes.  We do not live on bread alone but EVERY word that comes from God.
John 6:30 “What sign then are You going to do so we may see and believe You?” they asked. “What are You going to perform? 31 Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, just as it is written: He gave them bread from heaven to eat.”
32 Jesus said to them, “I assure you: Moses didn’t give you the bread from heaven, but My Father gives you the real bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is the One who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”
34 Then they said, “Sir, give us this bread always!”
35 “I am the bread of life,” Jesus told them. “No one who comes to Me will ever be hungry,and no one who believes in Me will ever be thirsty again.
Christ is out manna today.  He is our bread of life that will sustain us through this life until we reach our promise land of the New Jerusalem.   Once we reach our promised land, we will never go hungry for our Lord.  He will always be there!

Monday, July 29, 2013

Exodus 15:22-15:27 -- The First Grumbling in the Wilderness

Exodus 15:22 Then Moses led Israel on from the Red Sea, and they went out to the Wilderness of Shur. They journeyed for three days in the wilderness without finding water. 23 They came to Marah, but they could not drink the water at Marah because it was bitter—that is why it was named Marah. 24 The people grumbled to Moses, “What are we going to drink?” 25 So he cried out to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a tree. When he threw it into the water, the water became drinkable
He made a statute and ordinance for them at Marah and He tested them there. 26 He said, “If you will carefully obey the Lord your God, do what is right in His eyes, pay attention to His commands, and keep all His statutes, I will not inflict any illnesses on you that I inflicted on the Egyptians. For I am Yahweh who heals you.”
27 Then they came to Elim, where there were 12 springs of water and 70 date palms, and they camped there by the waters.
Their journey just begun and they are already grumbling about the things they need.  They grumbled to Moses  about the water being bitter and undrinkable.  Moses appealed to God and God told him what to do to make the water drinkable.   God promises that if the people obey his laws and statutes, he would not inflict them with the diseases that were put on the Egyptians.  He then led the Israelites to a place with many springs and date trees.  They had food and water while they were there.

God provided for the needs of the Israelites.  He told Moses how to make the water at Marah drinkable and then lead them to where they had plenty of water.  The Lord will always provide what we need.  Not what we think we need, but what we actually need.
Matthew 6:25 “This is why I tell you: Don’t worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Isn’t life more than food and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the sky: They don’t sow or reap or gather into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Aren’t you worth more than they? 27 Can any of you add a single cubit to his height by worrying? 28 And why do you worry about clothes? Learn how the wildflowers of the field grow: they don’t labor or spin thread. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was adorned like one of these! 30 If that’s how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and thrown into the furnace tomorrow, won’t He do much more for you—you of little faith? 31 So don’t worry, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ 32 For the idolaters eagerly seek all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you. 34 Therefore don’t worry about tomorrow, because tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
God tells us not to worry about our needs.  He will provide them for us.  Just as God provided for His people in their wandering, he too will provide for us.  The Israelites grumbled and worried about the water they had to drink.  Why would God lead them out of oppression just for them to die in the dessert?  They asked that question many times in the 40 years they wandered.  Did they ever stop to think that God would provide all they needed to make it to the promised land?  If he had not, then God's promise to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob would not have been fulfilled, then our God would not be worthy to worship because if he cannot keep a promise, then we cannot trust that anything he says would be true.  Since our Lord did keep his promise to Israel, we know he will keep these promises for us as well.

Friday, July 26, 2013

Exodus 14:15-15:21 -- Red Sea Crossing

Genesis 14:5 When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, Pharaoh and his officials changed their minds about the people and said: “What have we done? We have released Israel from serving us.” 6 So he got his chariot ready and took his troops with him; 7 he took 600 of the best chariots and all the rest of the chariots of Egypt, with officers in each one. 8 The Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued the Israelites, who were going out triumphantly. 9 The Egyptians—all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots, his horsemen, and his army—chased after them and caught up with them as they camped by the sea beside Pi-hahiroth, in front of Baal-zephon.
Pharaoh changed his mind.  He wanted the Israelites back.  This was all part of God's plan to destroy the Egyptian's strength so they could no long loom over the Israelites and provide fear that they may come back for them.
Exodus 14:10 As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up and saw the Egyptians coming after them. Then the Israelites were terrified and cried out to the Lord for help. 11 They said to Moses: “Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you took us to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? 12 Isn’t this what we told you in Egypt: Leave us alone so that we may serve the Egyptians? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.”
The Israelites are doubting the plan of God.  They see the Egyptians coming in all their might to get them back and all they can think about is dying in the wilderness.  They are not thinking God's way.
Exodus 14:13 But Moses said to the people, “Don’t be afraid. Stand firm and see the Lord’s salvation He will provide for you today; for the Egyptians you see today, you will never see again. 14 The Lord will fight for you; you must be quiet.”
15 The Lord said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to Me? Tell the Israelites to break camp.16 As for you, lift up your staff, stretch out your hand over the sea, and divide it so that the Israelites can go through the sea on dry ground. 17 I am going to harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they will go in after them, and I will receive glory by means of Pharaoh, all his army, and his chariots and horsemen. 18 The Egyptians will know that I am Yahweh when I receive glory through Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen.”
Here God tells Moses what to do to save all the people.  God is going to deliver his people in a mighty way and insure that the Egyptians will not bother them again.
Exodus 14:19 Then the Angel of God, who was going in front of the Israelite forces, moved and went behind them. The pillar of cloud moved from in front of them and stood behind them. 20 It came between the Egyptian and Israelite forces. The cloud was there in the darkness, yet it lit up the night. So neither group came near the other all night long.
During the night, while the Israelites prepared to cross the sea, the cloud separated the Egyptians from the Israelites so no one could be harmed.  God protected the Israelites from the Egyptians.
Exodus 14:21 Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea. The Lord drove the sea back with a powerful east wind all that night and turned the sea into dry land. So the waters were divided, 22 and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with the waters like a wall to them on their right and their left.
23 The Egyptians set out in pursuit—all Pharaoh’s horses, his chariots, and his horsemen—and went into the sea after them. 24 Then during the morning watch, the Lord looked down on the Egyptian forces from the pillar of fire and cloud, and threw them into confusion. 25 He caused their chariot wheels to swerve and made them drive with difficulty. “Let’s get away from Israel,” the Egyptians said, “because Yahweh is fighting for them against Egypt!”
The Egyptians went into the sea after the Israelites.  The Lord caused the chariots and horses to have difficulty crossing, so to delay them long enough for their judgment.
Exodus 14:26 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea so that the waters may come back on the Egyptians, on their chariots and horsemen.” 27 So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and at daybreak the sea returned to its normal depth. While the Egyptians were trying to escape from it, the Lord threw them into the sea. 28 The waters came back and covered the chariots and horsemen, the entire army of Pharaoh, that had gone after them into the sea. None of them survived.
So in one moment the entire Egyptian army was devoured by the sea.  All at the hand of God.  
Exodus 14:29 But the Israelites had walked through the sea on dry ground, with the waters like a wall to them on their right and their left. 30 That day the Lord saved Israel from the power of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. 31 When Israel saw the great power that the Lord used against the Egyptians, the people feared the Lord and believed in Him and in His servant Moses.
After all the plagues, after all the signs, the people of Israel finally had fear in the Lord and believed in Him and in Moses.  It took the destruction of Egypt for them to see, for their eyes to be opened to the power and glory of their God.
Genesis 15:1 Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the Lord. They said:
I will sing to the Lord,
for He is highly exalted;
He has thrown the horse
and its rider into the sea.
2 The Lord is my strength and my song;
He has become my salvation.
This is my God, and I will praise Him,
my father’s God, and I will exalt Him.
3 The Lord is a warrior;
Yahweh is His name.
 These praises tell us a lot about God.  He is highly exalted.  He is our strength and song.  He is our salvation.  He is worthy of our praise.  He is a warrior and Yahweh is his name.
Exodus 15:4 He threw Pharaoh’s chariots
and his army into the sea;
the elite of his officers
were drowned in the Red Sea.
5 The floods covered them;
they sank to the depths like a stone.
6 Lord, Your right hand is glorious in power.
Lord, Your right hand shattered the enemy.
7 You overthrew Your adversaries
by Your great majesty.
You unleashed Your burning wrath;
it consumed them like stubble.
8 The waters heaped up at the blast of Your nostrils;
the currents stood firm like a dam.
The watery depths congealed in the heart of the sea.
9 The enemy said:
“I will pursue, I will overtake,
I will divide the spoil.
My desire will be gratified at their expense.
I will draw my sword;
my hand will destroy them.”
10 But You blew with Your breath,
and the sea covered them.
They sank like lead
in the mighty waters.
With just one hand he destroyed the Egyptians in a display of his glorious power.  He over threw Egypt with his great majesty.
Exodus 15:11 Lord, who is like You among the gods?
Who is like You, glorious in holiness,
revered with praises, performing wonders?
12 You stretched out Your right hand,
and the earth swallowed them.
13 You will lead the people
You have redeemed
with Your faithful love;
You will guide them to Your holy dwelling
with Your strength.
With His faithful love he redeemed His people.  With His strength, they are guided to the holy dwelling.  No one is like our God.  He is glorious, holy, worthy of praise and performs marvelous wonders.
Exodus 15:14 When the peoples hear, they will shudder;
anguish will seize the inhabitants of Philistia.
15 Then the chiefs of Edom will be terrified;
trembling will seize the leaders of Moab;
the inhabitants of Canaan will panic;
16 and terror and dread will fall on them.
They will be as still as a stone
because of Your powerful arm
until Your people pass by, Lord,
until the people whom You purchased pass by.
When the other nations here what the Lord has done for Israel, they will also fear God.  They will fear the Israelites because God protects them.  They heard what happened to the Egyptians and they will not want that to happen to them.
Exodus 15:17 You will bring them in and plant them
on the mountain of Your possession;
Lord, You have prepared the place
for Your dwelling;
Lord, Your hands have established the sanctuary.
18 The Lord will reign forever and ever!
19 When Pharaoh’s horses with his chariots and horsemen went into the sea, the Lord brought the waters of the sea back over them. But the Israelites walked through the sea on dry ground. 20 Then Miriam the prophetess, Aaron’s sister, took a tambourine in her hand, and all the women followed her with their tambourines and danced. 21 Miriam sang to them:
Sing to the Lord,
for He is highly exalted;
He has thrown the horse
and its rider into the sea.
Praise God for all he has done for Israel and for us.  He is worthy of our praise even if he did not do all the signs and wonders in the land of Egypt.

Now let us look again at some passages from this section:
Exodus 15:2 The Lord is my strength and my song;
He has become my salvation.
Exodus 15:16 They will be as still as a stone
because of Your powerful arm
until Your people pass by, Lord,
until the people whom You purchased pass by.
These verses remind me of things said of Christ.
2 Timothy 2:10 This is why I endure all things for the elect: so that they also may obtain salvation, which is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory.
1 Timothy 2:5 For there is one God
and one mediator between God and humanity,
Christ Jesus, Himself human,
6 who gave Himself—a ransom for all,
a testimony at the proper time.
Salvation is in Christ, but God is also our salvation.  God "purchased" his people and Christ was a ransom for all.  Christ purchased our souls through the sacrifice of his blood.  He saved us through his death.  He is our salvation.  God and Christ are one, with the holy spirit.  They are the same but at the same time separate.  Each has their own purpose in the trinity, but they act in one accord, all towards the same goal.

Thursday, July 25, 2013

Exodus 13:17-14:4 -- The Israelites Begin Their Journey

Exodus 13:17 When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them along the road to the land of the Philistines, even though it was nearby; for God said, “The people will change their minds and return to Egypt if they face war.”
God knew that after all the hardship they had faced in Egypt, they were not mentally ready for war.  He knew they would become very discouraged if they left the oppression of Egypt and immediately went to battle.  God wanted them to have a chance to rest and build up their strength so that they would be ready for the day when they would have to fight for their land.
Exodus 13:18 So He led the people around toward the Red Sea along the road of the wilderness. And the Israelites left the land of Egypt in battle formation.
Even though the Lord did not want them to fight, they still left ready to do so.  The went by the road in the wilderness towards the Red Sea so that they could avoid the Philistines.
Exodus 13:19 Moses took the bones of Joseph with him, because Joseph had made the Israelites swear a solemn oath, saying, “God will certainly come to your aid; then you must take my bones with you from this place.”
Moses took back the bones of Joseph to the promise land as was promised him.  He would now rest near his relatives.
Exodus 13:20 They set out from Succoth and camped at Etham on the edge of the wilderness. 21 The Lord went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to lead them on their way during the day and in a pillar of fire to give them light at night, so that they could travel day or night. 22 The pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night never left its place in front of the people.
The Lord guided the people in the way they should go.  The safest way.  The true way.  I have heard some speculation that the pillar of cloud during the day and the pillar of fire at night was a volcanic eruption.  While the imagery makes since and God can use any form of nature to create his pillars, we cannot be certain this is what actually happened.  God could have chosen to create the cloud and the fire completely independent of a known natural phenomenon.
Exodus 14:1 Then the Lord spoke to Moses: 2 “Tell the Israelites to turn back and camp in front of Pi-hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea; you must camp in front of Baal-zephon, facing it by the sea. 3 Pharaoh will say of the Israelites: They are wandering around the land in confusion; the wilderness has boxed them in. 4 I will harden Pharaoh’s heart so that he will pursue them. Then I will receive glory by means of Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am Yahweh.” So the Israelites did this.
I bet when the Israelites heard this they were a little confused.  Why should they turn back when they have already gone this far?  The did though.  They turned back and camped where God told them to.  This sets up for the final defeat of the Egyptians when Pharaoh takes it upon himself to take his own army and pursue the Israelites to bring them back.  This does not end well for Pharaoh.  We will read of that tomorrow.

Wednesday, July 24, 2013

Exodus 12:33-13:16 -- Keeping the Passover

Exodus 12:33 Now the Egyptians pressured the people in order to send them quickly out of the country, for they said, “We’re all going to die!” 34 So the people took their dough before it was leavened, with their kneading bowls wrapped up in their clothes on their shoulders.
35 The Israelites acted on Moses’ word and asked the Egyptians for silver and gold jewelry and for clothing. 36 And the Lord gave the people such favor in the Egyptians’ sight that they gave them what they requested. In this way they plundered the Egyptians.
37 The Israelites traveled from Rameses to Succoth, about 600,000 soldiers on foot, besides their families. 38 An ethnically diverse crowd also went up with them, along with a huge number of livestock, both flocks and herds. 39 The people baked the dough they had brought out of Egypt into unleavened loaves, since it had no yeast; for when they had been drivenout of Egypt they could not delay and had not prepared any provisions for themselves.
40 The time that the Israelites lived in Egypt was 430 years. 41 At the end of 430 years, on that same day, all the Lord’s divisions went out from the land of Egypt. 42 It was a night of vigil in honor of the Lord, because He would bring them out of the land of Egypt. This same night is in honor of the Lord, a night vigil for all the Israelites throughout their generations.
The people finally left Egypt and traveled away from the city of their oppression.  This, of course was only the beginning of their long journey to the promised land.
Exodus 12:43 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “This is the statute of the Passover: no foreigner may eat it. 44 But any slave a man has purchased may eat it, after you have circumcised him.45 A temporary resident or hired hand may not eat the Passover. 46 It is to be eaten in one house. You may not take any of the meat outside the house, and you may not break any of its bones. 47 The whole community of Israel must celebrate it. 48 If a foreigner resides with you and wants to celebrate the Lord’s Passover, every male in his household must be circumcised, and then he may participate; he will become like a native of the land. But no uncircumcised person may eat it. 49 The same law will apply to both the native and the foreigner who resides among you.”
Here, the Lord gives to the people of Israel the instructions on how to celebrate the Passover.  Each family that participates, whether Jew or foreign, must be circumcised.  Since circumcision is the sign of the covenant between God and his people, they must be in his covenant to participate in the Passover.  That is why if a foreigner becomes circumcised, he will become like a native of the land.
Exodus 12:50 Then all the Israelites did this; they did just as the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron. 51 On that same day the Lord brought the Israelites out of the land of Egypt according to their divisions.
The Israelites obeyed the command of their God concerning the Passover.
Exodus 13:1 The Lord spoke to Moses: 2 “Consecrate every firstborn male to Me, the firstborn from every womb among the Israelites, both man and domestic animal; it is Mine.”
Here, the Lord is demanding that every first born male to be consecrated to himself.  Just as God destroyed the first born of those in Egypt, he wants to separate the first born of Israel for his special purposes.  Just as his own first born, Christ, was set apart as the sacrifice for us all.
Exodus 13:3 Then Moses said to the people, “Remember this day when you came out of Egypt, out of the place of slavery, for the Lord brought you out of here by the strength of His hand. Nothing leavened may be eaten. 4 Today, in the month of Abib, you are leaving. 5 When the Lord brings you into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Hivites, and Jebusites, which He swore to your fathers that He would give you, a land flowing with milk and honey, you must carry out this ritual in this month. 6 For seven days you must eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day there is to be a festival to the Lord.7 Unleavened bread is to be eaten for those seven days. Nothing leavened may be found among you, and no yeast may be found among you in all your territory. 8 On that day explain to your son, ‘This is because of what the Lord did for me when I came out of Egypt.’9 Let it serve as a sign for you on your hand and as a reminder on your forehead, so that the Lord’s instruction may be in your mouth; for the Lord brought you out of Egypt with a strong hand. 10 Keep this statute at its appointed time from year to year.
Here Moses commands again for the people of Israel to follow the Passover.   The people will constantly have to be reminded and redirected towards the will of God throughout their journey to and life in the promised land.
Exodus 13:11 “When the Lord brings you into the land of the Canaanites, as He swore to you and your fathers, and gives it to you, 12 you are to present to the Lord every firstborn male of the womb. All firstborn offspring of the livestock you own that are males will be the Lord’s.13 You must redeem every firstborn of a donkey with a flock animal, but if you do not redeem it, break its neck. However, you must redeem every firstborn among your sons.
14 “In the future, when your son asks you, ‘What does this mean?’ say to him, ‘By the strength of His hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt, out of the place of slavery. 15 When Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, the Lord killed every firstborn male in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of man to the firstborn of livestock. That is why I sacrifice to the Lord all the firstborn of the womb that are males, but I redeem all the firstborn of my sons.’16 So let it be a sign on your hand and a symbol on your forehead, for the Lord brought us out of Egypt by the strength of His hand.”
The Lord brought the Israelites out by the strength of His hand.  He showed his mighty power in taking all the first born of Egypt, and now he wants the first born of Israel, not to kill, but to redeem and set apart for his works.

I want to look at a phrase that has been in this section a few times:  "a symbol on you forehead."  I know this is mentioned many times in Revelation in reference to the mark of the beast as well as determining who is Gods.
Revelation 13:15 He was permitted to give a spirit to the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast could both speak and cause whoever would not worship the image of the beast to be killed. 16 And he requires everyone—small and great, rich and poor, free and slave—to be given a mark on his right hand or on his forehead, 17 so that no one can buy or sell unless he has the mark: the beast’s name or the number of his name.
Revelation 14:9 And a third angel followed them and spoke with a loud voice: “If anyone worships the beast and his image and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand, 10 he will also drink the wine of God’s wrath, which is mixed full strength in the cup of His anger. He will be tormented with fire and sulfur in the sight of the holy angels and in the sight of the Lamb
Here those with the mark of the beast are those destined to an eternity in hell.  They are not marked with the seal of God, and the only other option is the mark of the beast.  The mark is probably not literal in the since that you will see a physical mark on a person's hand or forehead, but it is their thoughts and deeds that hand them over to their destruction.
Revelation 7:3 “Don’t harm the earth or the sea or the trees until we seal the slaves of our God on their foreheads.”

Revelation 9:3 Then locusts came out of the smoke on to the earth, and power was given to them like the power that scorpions have on the earth. 4 They were told not to harm the grass of the earth, or any green plant, or any tree, but only people who do not have God’s seal on their foreheads. 5 They were not permitted to kill them but were to torment them for five months; their torment is like the torment caused by a scorpion when it strikes a man.

Revelation 20:4 Then I saw thrones, and people seated on them who were given authority to judge. I also saw the people who had been beheaded because of their testimony about Jesus and because of God’s word, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and who had not accepted the mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with the Messiah for 1,000 years.

Revelation 22:3b The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and His slaves will serve Him. 4 They will see His face, and His name will be on their foreheads. 5 Night will no longer exist, and people will not need lamplight or sunlight, because the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign forever and ever.
Again, the seal of God is probably not a physical mark on the person's body, but a showing of their faith through their deeds and thoughts.  Those are God's are marked and those who God has chosen will not be harmed by some of the upcoming judgments.

It seems that the mark on the hand comes from the deeds the person does.  If the person does evil or selfish deeds , they are marked by the beast but if they do righteous deeds they are sealed for God.  Likewise the mark on the forehead seems to be that if the person thinks evil things they have the mark of the beast, but those chosen by God have righteous thoughts and are sealed by God.

When referring to the Passover and the consecration of the first born males, the deed of keeping the Passover would be righteous in the site of God for the Jews, the mark on the hand.  Also, the fathers teaching their sons the importance of the Passover and the consecration of the first born, the mark on the forehead.  I could be completely wrong about seeing a connection here, and if anyone has any further incite, please let me know!
Deuteronomy 11:18 “Imprint these words of mine on your hearts and minds, bind them as a sign on your hands, and let them be a symbol on your foreheads. 19 Teach them to your children,talking about them when you sit in your house and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.
Deuteronomy tells the marks are not literal.  They are symbols.  Keep the words on your heard and minds.  Bind them as a sign on your hands.  Keeping the laws in Deuteronomy would be a sign of righteousness, and this the acts of the hands in keeping the law would be the sign to show you have faith and believe in God.  Believing enough to do the deeds of God, you will want to teach them to your children.  The mark of the forehead is knowing the truth of God through and through, enough to teach others about the power and glory of God.

Tuesday, July 23, 2013

Exodus 11:1 - 12:32 -- Death of the First Born

Exodus 11:1 The Lord said to Moses, “I will bring one more plague on Pharaoh and on Egypt. After that, he will let you go from here. When he lets you go, he will drive you out of here.
Now the Lord says that Pharaoh will finally let the people go after the next plague.
Exodus 11:2 Now announce to the people that both men and women should ask their neighbors for silver and gold jewelry.” 3 The Lord gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians. And the man Moses was highly regarded in the land of Egypt by Pharaoh’s officials and the people.
God wants his people to be prepared to leave when Pharaoh drives them out.  He does not want the caught by surprise.  He is giving them favor in the eyes of the Egyptians so they will leave a wealthy people.
Exodus 11:4 So Moses said, “This is what Yahweh says: ‘About midnight I will go throughout Egypt,5 and every firstborn male in the land of Egypt will die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sits on his throne to the firstborn of the servant girl who is behind the millstones, as well as every firstborn of the livestock.
Can you imagine the heart ache of the Egyptians when they woke up to find all their first born dead?  Keep in mind the verse says that all the first born (male in the later verses) from Pharaoh to the servant girl.  Also note that Pharaoh had many wives/concubines.  I am sure he had children with several different women, so not only did he loose his first born and heir, he probably lost more than one child that night.  Each first born from each wife/concubine.
Exodus 11:6 Then there will be a great cry of anguish through all the land of Egypt such as never was before, or ever will be again. 7 But against all the Israelites, whether man or beast, not even a dog will snarl, so that you may know that Yahweh makes a distinction between Egypt and Israel. 8 All these officials of yours will come down to me and bow before me, saying: Leave, you and all the people who follow you. After that, I will leave.’” And he left Pharaoh’s presence in fierce anger.
9 The Lord said to Moses, “Pharaoh will not listen to you, so that My wonders may be multiplied in the land of Egypt.” 10 Moses and Aaron did all these wonders before Pharaoh, but the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he would not let the Israelites go out of his land.
The longer Pharaoh holds on to the people of Israel, the greater the power of God is shown.
Exodus 12:1 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt: 2 “This month is to be the beginning of months for you; it is the first month of your year. 3 Tell the whole community of Israel that on the tenth day of this month they must each select an animal of the flock according to their fathers’ households, one animal per household. 4 If the household is too small for a whole animal, that person and the neighbor nearest his house are to select one based on the combined number of people; you should apportion the animal according to what each person will eat. 5 You must have an unblemished animal, a year-old male; you may take it from either the sheep or the goats. 6 You are to keep it until the fourteenth day of this month; then the whole assembly of the community of Israel will slaughter the animals at twilight. 7 They must take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses where they eat them. 8 They are to eat the meat that night; they should eat it, roasted over the fire along with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. 9 Do not eat any of it raw or cooked in boiling water, but only roasted over fire—its head as well as its legs and inner organs. 10 Do not let any of it remain until morning; you must burn up any part of it that does remain before morning. 11 Here is how you must eat it: you must be dressed for travel, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. You are to eat it in a hurry; it is the Lord’s Passover.
Again, the Lord wants his people ready for travel.  He gives them specific instructions on how to choose the animal, eat the animal and prepare themselves.  By following these instructions, the Israelites will be passed over and not one of their children will be harmed.  They will then be driven out by the Egyptians in such a hurry, that if they had not already been dressed and packed, then they would not be clothed or prepared to go.
Exodus 12:12 “I will pass through the land of Egypt on that night and strike every firstborn male in the land of Egypt, both man and beast. I am Yahweh; I will execute judgments against all the gods of Egypt.
Hence all the different kinds of plagues that affected every part of life for the Egyptians.  Each god played a role in Egyptian life, and our God showed he power over all the Egyptian gods.
Exodus 12:13 The blood on the houses where you are staying will be a distinguishing mark for you; when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No plague will be among you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.
14 “This day is to be a memorial for you, and you must celebrate it as a festival to the Lord. You are to celebrate it throughout your generations as a permanent statute. 15 You must eat unleavened bread for seven days. On the first day you must remove yeast from your houses. Whoever eats what is leavened from the first day through the seventh day must be cut off from Israel. 16 You are to hold a sacred assembly on the first day and another sacred assembly on the seventh day. No work may be done on those days except for preparing what people need to eat—you may do only that.
17 “You are to observe the Festival of Unleavened Bread because on this very day I brought your divisions out of the land of Egypt. You must observe this day throughout your generations as a permanent statute. 18 You are to eat unleavened bread in the first month, from the evening of the fourteenth day of the month until the evening of the twenty-first day. 19 Yeast must not be found in your houses for seven days. If anyone eats something leavened, that person, whether a foreign resident or native of the land, must be cut off from the community of Israel. 20 Do not eat anything leavened; eat unleavened bread in all your homes.”
The Lord wants his people to remember and teach this event.  He wants generation after generation to remember what the Lord has done for the people of Israel.  This feast will incite questions from the young on why they do these things and provides times of teaching for parents to their children.
Exodus 12:21 Then Moses summoned all the elders of Israel and said to them, “Go, select an animal from the flock according to your families, and slaughter the Passover animal. 22 Take a cluster of hyssop, dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and brush the lintel and the two doorposts with some of the blood in the basin. None of you may go out the door of his house until morning. 23 When the Lord passes through to strike Egypt and sees the blood on the lintel and the two doorposts, He will pass over the door and not let the destroyer enter your houses to strike you.
24 “Keep this command permanently as a statute for you and your descendants. 25 When you enter the land that the Lord will give you as He promised, you are to observe this ritual.26 When your children ask you, ‘What does this ritual mean to you?’ 27 you are to reply, ‘It is the Passover sacrifice to the Lord, for He passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt when He struck the Egyptians and spared our homes.’” So the people bowed down and worshiped. 28 Then the Israelites went and did this; they did just as the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron.
29 Now at midnight the Lord struck every firstborn male in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on his throne to the firstborn of the prisoner who was in the dungeon, and every firstborn of the livestock. 30 During the night Pharaoh got up, he along with all his officials and all the Egyptians, and there was a loud wailing throughout Egypt because there wasn’t a house without someone dead. 31 He summoned Moses and Aaron during the night and said, “Get up, leave my people, both you and the Israelites, and go, worship Yahweh as you have asked. 32 Take even your flocks and your herds as you asked and leave, and also bless me.”
Now Pharaoh is serious about letting them go, but not before he is blessed.  We will learn later that Pharaoh was not so quick to let them leave and that will prove fatal for so many more Egyptians.  We will look at that in a few days.

Monday, July 22, 2013

Exodus 10:21-29 -- Darkness Descends

Exodus 10:21 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward heaven, and there will be darkness over the land of Egypt, a darkness that can be felt.”
I wonder what it means, "a darkness that can be felt."
Exodus 10:22 So Moses stretched out his hand toward heaven, and there was thick darkness throughout the land of Egypt for three days. 23 One person could not see another, and for three days they did not move from where they were. Yet all the Israelites had light where they lived.
24 Pharaoh summoned Moses and said, “Go, worship Yahweh. Even your families may go with you; only your flocks and herds must stay behind.”
Again, Pharaoh trying to compromise.  Now you can go where ever, take your families, but your animals must stay.  Again a ploy at trying to be certain that the Israelites would return after worship.
Exodus 10:25 Moses responded, “You must also let us have sacrifices and burnt offerings to prepare for Yahweh our God. 26 Even our livestock must go with us; not a hoof will be left behind because we will take some of them to worship Yahweh our God. We will not know what we will use to worship Yahweh until we get there.”
27 But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he was unwilling to let them go. 28 Pharaoh said to him, “Leave me! Make sure you never see my face again, for on the day you see my face, you will die.”
29 “As you have said,” Moses replied, “I will never see your face again.”
Now Pharaoh has condemned Moses if he ever sees him again.  

We see some very interesting parallels in this story and with that of Christ's death.  Here in Exodus, darkness descends on the land for 3 days, it was so bad the people could not see.  We know that following this darkness, the first born of the Egyptians would all die.
Matthew 27:45 From noon until three in the afternoon darkness came over the whole land.
Here in Matthew, we see that darkness covered all the land for 3 hours.  Here is a repetition of three.  For the Egyptians, it was 3 days, for Israel it was 3 hours.  Each darkness was followed by death, For Egypt, the death of all their first borns. For Israel, it was the death of their Messiah, the first born of God.  One died in judgment of God the other in sacrifice.

This passage also shows us some Biblical truths.  Notice the passage says "So Moses stretched out his hand toward heaven, and there was thick darkness throughout the land of Egypt for three days. One person could not see another, and for three days they did not move from where they were. Yet all the Israelites had light where they lived."

Even in the beginning, before there was sin in the world, God separated what was good from what was evil.
Genesis 1:4 God saw that the light was good, and God separated the light from the darkness.
Just like in Genesis, God separated those who were evil from those who were righteous.  The Egyptians were covered in total darkness because their hearts were hard and they would not let the Israelites go with all they had to worship their God.  Likewise, the Israelites were seen as righteous and their land was filled with light.

In the end, God will continue to separate the light from the dark.  We are given this warning from Him:
Luke 11:33 “No one lights a lamp and puts it in the cellar or under a basket, but on a lampstand, so that those who come in may see its light. 34 Your eye is the lamp of the body. When your eye is good, your whole body is also full of light. But when it is bad, your body is also full of darkness. 35 Take care then, that the light in you is not darkness. 36 If, therefore, your whole body is full of light, with no part of it in darkness, it will be entirely illuminated, as when a lamp shines its light on you.”
We are not only to be filled with light and not darkness, but we are to let the light shine for all to see.  We are not to hide our faith, but share it.  In the end, if we are filled with light, we will be with our heavenly father for all eternity.  If we are filled with darkness, we will be separated from Him for all eternity.
John 12:35 Jesus answered, “The light will be with you only a little longer. Walk while you have the light so that darkness doesn’t overtake you. The one who walks in darkness doesn’t know where he’s going. 36 While you have the light, believe in the light so that you may become sons of light.” Jesus said this, then went away and hid from them.
Jesus is our light.  We must be filled with Him.  We must radiate Him.  We must show Him to all the world so the world can too shine His light.  

Saturday, July 20, 2013

Exodus 10:1-20 -- Locust Feast

Exodus 10:1 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart and the hearts of his officials so that I may do these miraculous signs of Mine among them, 2 and so that you may tell your son and grandson how severely I dealt with the Egyptians and performed miraculous signs among them, and you will know that I am Yahweh.”
Here God says that the signs are so that Moses can tell his son and grandson how severely God punished the Egyptian. It is for the Israelites to tell their children and grandchildren of the wondrous might of their God and how he delivered them, through his power and signs, from the oppression of the Egyptians.
Exodus 10:3 So Moses and Aaron went in to Pharaoh and told him, “This is what Yahweh, the God of the Hebrews, says: How long will you refuse to humble yourself before Me? Let My people go, that they may worship Me. 4 But if you refuse to let My people go, then tomorrow I will bring locusts into your territory. 5 They will cover the surface of the land so that no one will be able to see the land. They will eat the remainder left to you that escaped the hail; they will eat every tree you have growing in the fields.
Do you remember in the last post I mentioned that it seemed that God had some mercy on the Egyptians by leaving them some grain (the later harvest) so they could survive?  Well, the locust may have wiped that harvest out as well.  We do not know how much time passed between the hail and the locust, but it may have been enough time for the wheat and spelt to have been planted.
Exodus 10:6 They will fill your houses, all your officials’ houses, and the houses of all the Egyptians—something your fathers and ancestors never saw since the time they occupied the land until today.” Then he turned and left Pharaoh’s presence.
7 Pharaoh’s officials asked him, “How long must this man be a snare to us? Let the men go, so that they may worship Yahweh their God. Don’t you realize yet that Egypt is devastated?”
8 So Moses and Aaron were brought back to Pharaoh. “Go, worship Yahweh your God,” Pharaoh said. “But exactly who will be going?”
Here Pharaoh wants another deal.  Remember the first one was you can go, but not too far, now he wants to see who is going, because Pharaoh knows that if only the men go, then they will come back for their wives and children.
Exodus 10:9 Moses replied, “We will go with our young and our old; we will go with our sons and daughters and with our flocks and herds because we must hold Yahweh’s festival.”
10 He said to them, “May Yahweh be with you if I ever let you and your families go! Look out—you are planning evil. 11 No, only the men may go and worship Yahweh, for that is what you have been asking for.” And they were driven from Pharaoh’s presence.
I have not looked at the Hebrew, nor would I really know where to look at that, but, from an English translation, Moses said "people" not "men" when referring to leaving to worship.  Pharaoh may have assumed he meant just the men?
Exodus 10:12 The Lord then said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the land of Egypt and the locusts will come up over it and eat every plant in the land, everything that the hail left.”13 So Moses stretched out his staff over the land of Egypt, and the Lord sent an east wind over the land all that day and through the night. By morning the east wind had brought in the locusts. 14 The locusts went up over the entire land of Egypt and settled on the whole territory of Egypt. Never before had there been such a large number of locusts, and there never will be again. 15 They covered the surface of the whole land so that the land was black, and they consumed all the plants on the ground and all the fruit on the trees that the hail had left. Nothing green was left on the trees or the plants in the field throughout the land of Egypt.
16 Pharaoh urgently sent for Moses and Aaron and said, “I have sinned against Yahweh your God and against you. 17 Please forgive my sin once more and make an appeal to Yahweh your God, so that He will take this death away from me.” 18 Moses left Pharaoh’s presence and appealed to the Lord. 19 Then the Lord changed the wind to a strong west wind, and it carried off the locusts and blew them into the Red Sea. Not a single locust was left in all the territory of Egypt. 20 But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he did not let the Israelites go.
Again Pharaoh asked Moses to remove the hardship and again Pharaoh refused to keep his promise.  He hardened his heart as soon as the hardship was over.  Once things got easy again, Pharaoh would not keep his word.  
 

Friday, July 19, 2013

Exodus 9:13-35 -- Hail Falls from the Sky

Exodus 9:13 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Get up early in the morning and present yourself to Pharaoh. Tell him: This is what Yahweh, the God of the Hebrews says: Let My people go, so that they may worship Me. 14 Otherwise, I am going to send all My plagues against you, your officials, and your people. Then you will know there is no one like Me in all the earth.15 By now I could have stretched out My hand and struck you and your people with a plague, and you would have been obliterated from the earth. 16 However, I have let you live for this purpose: to show you My power and to make My name known in all the earth. 17 You are still acting arrogantly against My people by not letting them go. 18 Tomorrow at this time I will rain down the worst hail that has ever occurred in Egypt from the day it was founded until now. 19 Therefore give orders to bring your livestock and all that you have in the field into shelters. Every person and animal that is in the field and not brought inside will die when the hail falls on them.”
As I read this, I think of how Moses was being obedient to the Lord's commands.  Early on, he had a lot of objections to this plan, especially telling God he was not qualified to do the work, but now, Moses does everything the Lord tells him to.  Another thing that struck me was that the Lord gave them a way out of this plague.  He said if the bring their people and animals inside, then they would be spared.  He said that anything or anyone left outside would be destroyed,
Exodus 9:20 Those among Pharaoh’s officials who feared the word of the Lord made their servants and livestock flee to shelters, 21 but those who didn’t take the Lord’s word seriously left their servants and livestock in the field.
 After all that the Lord had shown the Egyptians through Moses and his plagues, there were some who still did not believe in the Lord's power.  They were obstinate and left their livestock and servants outside.
Exodus 9:22 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward heaven and let there be hail throughout the land of Egypt—on man and beast and every plant of the field in the land of Egypt.” 23 So Moses stretched out his staff toward heaven, and the Lord sent thunder and hail. Lightning struck the earth, and the Lord rained hail on the land of Egypt. 24 The hail, with lightning flashing through it, was so severe that nothing like it had occurred in the land of Egypt since it had become a nation. 25 Throughout the land of Egypt, the hail struck down everything in the field, both man and beast. The hail beat down every plant of the field and shattered every tree in the field. 26 The only place it didn’t hail was in the land of Goshen where the Israelites were.
God destroyed everything.  Man.  Beast.  Plants.  All the crops that had not been gathered was destroyed.  All the animals that had not been put to shelter were killed.  Every man who stayed outside lost their life.  The land of Israel was spared.
Exodus 9:27 Pharaoh sent for Moses and Aaron. “I have sinned this time,” he said to them. “Yahweh is the Righteous One, and I and my people are the guilty ones. 28 Make an appeal to Yahweh. There has been enough of God’s thunder and hail. I will let you go; you don’t need to stay any longer.”
29 Moses said to him, “When I have left the city, I will extend my hands to Yahweh. The thunder will cease, and there will be no more hail, so that you may know the earth belongs to Yahweh. 30 But as for you and your officials, I know that you still do not fear Yahweh our God.”
Moses knew that Pharaoh and the officials did not fear God.  They still held beliefs in their own gods even though our Lord showed his complete power over the gods of Egypt.
Exodus 9:31 The flax and the barley were destroyed because the barley was ripe and the flax was budding, 32 but the wheat and the spelt were not destroyed since they are later crops.
Here we see some mercy from the Lord in this plague.  Yes, the crops that were already planted and near to harvest were destroyed and the Egyptians had to suffer temporarily from lack of grains, they did have the harvest of wheat and spelt to look forward to.  It was not God's intent to utterly destroy the Egyptians, just to brake them enough to recognize his power and authority over all functions of the earth.
Exodus 9:33 Moses went out from Pharaoh and the city, and extended his hands to the Lord. Then the thunder and hail ceased, and rain no longer poured down on the land. 34 When Pharaoh saw that the rain, hail, and thunder had ceased, he sinned again and hardened his heart, he and his officials. 35 So Pharaoh’s heart hardened, and he did not let the Israelites go, as the Lord had said through Moses.
I know Moses was not surprised at this reaction.  He knew that Pharaoh and his officials did not fear God properly. They wanted their comfort back.  They wanted to rebuild what was lost, but they did not want to acknowledge God and what he had done.   Once things were back to normal, Pharaoh and his officials recanted what had previously been said,

There are other times in the Bible when the Lord uses hail as a judgment on wicked and evil people.
Joshua 10:6 Then the men of Gibeon sent word to Joshua in the camp at Gilgal: “Don’t abandon your servants. Come quickly and save us! Help us, for all the Amorite kings living in the hill country have joined forces against us.” 7 So Joshua and his whole military force, including all the fighting men, came from Gilgal.
8 The Lord said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid of them, for I have handed them over to you. Not one of them will be able to stand against you.”
9 So Joshua caught them by surprise, after marching all night from Gilgal. 10 The Lord threw them into confusion before Israel. He defeated them in a great slaughter at Gibeon, chased them through the ascent of Beth-horon, and struck them down as far as Azekah and Makkedah. 11 As they fled before Israel, the Lord threw large hailstones on them from the sky along the descent of Beth-horon all the way to Azekah, and they died. More of them died from the hail than the Israelites killed with the sword.
Here, the Lord handed over the enemy of Joshua to his army.  They defeated them and as the defeated army fled, the Lord rained hail down on them, taking out more men that the Israelite army did.
Psalm 48:47 He killed their vines with hail
and their sycamore fig trees with a flood.
48 He handed over their livestock to hail
and their cattle to lightning bolts.
Here, Psalm is talking about the punishment God gave to Israel during their disobedience while they wandered through the desert.
Revelation 16:21 Enormous hailstones, each weighing about 100 pounds, fell from the sky on people, and they blasphemed God for the plague of hail because that plague was extremely severe.
At the end times, a hail storm will come and devastate everything.  People will curse God because of the hail instead of recognizing his power and authority.

As you see from these examples, hail is used as a judgment from God in the Bible.  God uses hail to show his power and might over many parts of nature.  Weather.  Life and Death.  Food.  Comfort.  And so much more.  God is all powerful and the righteous judge.  He brings the hail down on wicked people to they can see his power and might.  So they can know he is the one true, all powerful God.

Tuesday, July 16, 2013

Exodus 9:8-12 -- Boils

Exodus 9:8 Then the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Take handfuls of furnace soot, and Moses is to throw it toward heaven in the sight of Pharaoh. 9 It will become fine dust over the entire land of Egypt. It will become festering boils on man and beast throughout the land of Egypt.” 10 So they took furnace soot and stood before Pharaoh. Moses threw it toward heaven, and it became festering boils on man and beast. 11 The magicians could not stand before Moses because of the boils, for the boils were on the magicians as well as on all the Egyptians. 12 But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart and he did not listen to them, as the Lord had told Moses.
All the Egyptians had boils, all over their skin.  Their animals did as well.  You may think, but weren't all their animals just killed?  Well, yes and no.  Yes they were all killed during the last plague, but we do not know how much time passed between that plague and this one.  It is possible that the Egyptians acquired some animals in that time.

This plague showed the Egyptians that the God of Israel had control over their health.  The gods of Egypt could not overcome the boils and cure the Egyptians.  The magicians could not even stand before Moses.  They were so covered in boils they did not even attempt to replicate or remove the boils.

In Deuteronomy, the Lord says this:
Deuteronomy 28:15 “But if you do not obey the Lord your God by carefully following all His commands and statutes I am giving you today, all these curses will come and overtake you:
and one punishment is:
Deuteronomy 28:27 “The Lord will afflict you with the boils of Egypt, tumors, a festering rash, and scabies, from which you cannot be cured.
Pharaoh disobeyed God by not letting the people of Israel go, so one of their punishments was the boils on the skin, which they could not heal themselves.  

Monday, July 15, 2013

Exodus 9:1-7 -- Death of Livestock

Exodus 9:1 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go in to Pharaoh and say to him: This is what Yahweh, the God of the Hebrews, says: Let My people go, so that they may worship Me. 2 But if you refuse to let them go and keep holding them, 3 then the Lord’s hand will bring a severe plague against your livestock in the field—the horses, donkeys, camels, herds, and flocks.
 So the Lord said he would strike their "horses, donkeys, camels, herds, and flocks."  The horses, donkeys and camels were the animals they would have used to work and travel.  If they die, then their work and travel would become much harder.  Their flocks and herds, talking about goats and sheep most likely, were a source of food.  With out meat or milk, their food supply would diminish greatly.
Exodus 9:4 But the Lord will make a distinction between the livestock of Israel and the livestock of Egypt, so that nothing of all that the Israelites own will die.”
 Again, the Lord does not touch the flocks, herds or animals that belonged to the Israelites.  He made a distinction between his people and the people of Pharaoh.
Exodus 9:5 And the Lord set a time, saying, “Tomorrow the Lord will do this thing in the land.” 6 The Lord did this the next day. All the Egyptian livestock died, but none among the Israelite livestock died. 7 Pharaoh sent messengers who saw that not a single one of the Israelite livestock was dead. But Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he did not let the people go.
Again, the reports of Moses and Aaron became true.  The Lord promised death of all the Egyptian animals and life for all the Israelites' animals.  Pharaoh saw that all this came about, but his heart was still hardened and he refused to listen to God.  He knew this was God who preformed these things, but he still did not listen, much like the merchants watching the destruction of Babylon at the end of times.
Revelation 17b And every shipmaster, seafarer, the sailors, and all who do business by sea, stood far off 18 as they watched the smoke from her burning and kept crying out: “Who is like the great city?” 19 They threw dust on their heads and kept crying out, weeping, and mourning:

Woe, woe, the great city,
where all those who have ships on the sea
became rich from her wealth,
for in a single hour she was destroyed.
20 Rejoice over her, heaven,
and you saints, apostles, and prophets,
because God has executed your judgment on her!
Those who watched the destruction of the great city recognized that God had executed his judgments on Babylon.  They did not, however, turn and repent, or even attempt to help save the city.  They stood on their boats and watched, crying at the loss of all their worldly treasures. It is almost like they are angry at the saints, apostle and prophets: the city was destroyed because of you!  That is the wrong attitude.  They should have been saying "God your power is great and your judgment is just, we believe you are God"  But again, their hearts were hard, just like Pharaoh's.  They would not listen to God, even when his majesty and power were on display for them.

Friday, July 12, 2013

Exodus 8:20-32 -- The Fourth Plague

Exodus 8:20 The Lord said to Moses, “Get up early in the morning and present yourself to Pharaoh when you see him going out to the water. Tell him: This is what Yahweh says: Let My people go, so that they may worship Me. 21 But if you will not let My people go, then I will send swarms of flies against you, your officials, your people, and your houses. The Egyptians’ houses will swarm with flies, and so will the land where they live. 22 But on that day I will give special treatment to the land of Goshen, where My people are living; no flies will be there. This way you will know that I, Yahweh, am in the land. 23 I will make a distinction between My people and your people. This sign will take place tomorrow.”
This is the first plague that the Israelites did not have to endure.  The Lord is showing Egypt who he favors and who he is punishing by where they flies will be residing.
Exodus 8:24 And the Lord did this. Thick swarms of flies went into Pharaoh’s palace and his officials’ houses. Throughout Egypt the land was ruined because of the swarms of flies. 25 Then Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said, “Go sacrifice to your God within the country.”
Here Pharaoh is attempting to compromise with God.  You can go sacrifice, but you must do it here.  You cannot leave to sacrifice.
Exodus 8:26 But Moses said, “It would not be right to do that, because what we will sacrifice to the Lord our God is detestable to the Egyptians. If we sacrifice what the Egyptians detest in front of them, won’t they stone us? 27 We must go a distance of three days into the wilderness and sacrifice to the Lord our God as He instructs us.”
28 Pharaoh responded, “I will let you go and sacrifice to the Lord your God in the wilderness, but don’t go very far. Make an appeal for me.”
Ok, you can go out of the country, but don't go far... Again trying to compromise.  Pharaoh even asks Moses to appeal to God to remove the flies.  Pharaoh recognizes the power of God but refuses to obey him completely.
Exodus 8:29 “As soon as I leave you,” Moses said, “I will appeal to the Lord, and tomorrow the swarms of flies will depart from Pharaoh, his officials, and his people. But Pharaoh must not act deceptively again by refusing to let the people go and sacrifice to the Lord.” 30 Then Moses left Pharaoh’s presence and appealed to the Lord. 31 The Lord did as Moses had said: He removed the swarms of flies from Pharaoh, his officials, and his people; not one was left. 32 But Pharaoh hardened his heart this time also and did not let the people go.
Again, the discomfort was removed and Pharaoh again became comfortable and refused to let them go.  This is twice now he said they could go and then backed out.

I read a commentary that said the swarm of insects, though most probably a flying insect, could be any number of insects that swarm.   They state that the Hebrew used is simply the word swarm, and no specific species of insect is given.

So, if Exodus does not mention exactly what insect, can we know what kind it really was?  Psalms gives us a clue

Psalms 78:45
He sent among them swarms of flies,which fed on them,
Remember the Hebrew probably did not include "of flies," but in this verse we learn that the swarm fed on them, which means they were biting insects which probably drank blood, like biting flies or mosquitoes.  Though we cannot know for sure exactly what insects swarmed the Egyptians, we do know the result.  They devastated the land.  The people of Egypt were probably so weary of all the biting and swarming that they had little rest and were not able to perform their labors as they once could.  The insects would have been everywhere: on and in their cloths, in their food, in their water... everywhere you can think of their would have been these insects.  We have no idea how long it took Pharaoh to summon Moses after the swarms appeared, so there is no telling how long the people suffered before Pharaoh made his petition.

Tuesday, July 9, 2013

Exodus 8:16-19 -- The Third Plague

Exodus 8:16 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Tell Aaron: Stretch out your staff and strike the dust of the earth, and it will become gnats throughout the land of Egypt.”
Some versions translate gnats as lice.  We know gnats and lice are different creatures, but the concept of each is the same.  They drink your blood.  They bit you and cause you to itch.  They, whether or not they were gnats or lice, are very annoying!
17 And they did this. Aaron stretched out his hand with his staff, and when he struck the dust of the earth, gnats were on man and beast. All the dust of the earth became gnats throughout the land of Egypt. 18 The magicians tried to produce gnats using their occult practices, but they could not. The gnats remained on man and beast.
So, this is the first plague that the magicians could not duplicate.  They could not produce any gnats.
19 “This is the finger of God,” the magicians said to Pharaoh. But Pharaoh’s heart hardened, and he would not listen to them, as the Lord had said.
Pharaoh still would not listen to the Lord and free the people of Israel.  The magicians even told Pharaoh this was God who made the gnats appear, but he still would not listen, again, as the Lord had said.

In the last passage I talked about how the plague of the frogs was to show God's rulership over the Egyptian gods that were often depicted as frogs, well this plague is also against a particular god of the Egyptians.  The Egyptian god, Set, was the god of the desert.  What is the desert made of?  Sand.  What is sand?  The dust of the earth.  "All the dust of the earth became gnats."  God showed them that even Set, could not stop the sand from becoming gnats.

I read a commentary about how the gnat/lice plague really affected the priest of Egypt.  The priest could not enter their temples unless they were very clean and they had multiple rituals they did daily to keep themselves pure and clean.  One of them was keeping their heads and bodies free from hair so that lice could not take hold.  Lice was seen as a sign of impurity and uncleanness, and the priest could not enter their temples and beseech their gods covered in lice.

Monday, July 8, 2013

Exodus 8:1-15 -- Frogs Are Everywhere

Exodus 8:1 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go in to Pharaoh and tell him: This is what Yahweh says: Let My people go, so that they may worship Me. 2 But if you refuse to let them go, then I will plague all your territory with frogs. 3 The Nile will swarm with frogs; they will come up and go into your palace, into your bedroom and on your bed, into the houses of your officials and your people, and into your ovens and kneading bowls. 4 The frogs will come up on you, your people, and all your officials.”
So why was their a plague of frogs?  That does not seem to scary or dangerous.  It does not seem life threatening like making the water of the Nile undrinkable by turning it to blood.  Well I did some research into frogs and Egypt.  I had always been told that Egyptians did not like frogs and thought they were disgusting creatures, but after reading a little about Egyptian mythology, I learned that they believed in a god that took the form of a frog, often associated with fertility and childbearing.  By showing God's power over frogs, Moses and Aaron are demonstrating to Pharaoh that their God, Yahweh, can control the Egyptian "god." Another way to look at this is that another Egyptian god, Kuk, was also depicted as a frog, and he was the god of darkness and chaos, so perhaps the fear would come in that the many frogs reminded them of Kuk, and thus chaos and darkness upon the land of Egypt.
Exodus 8:5 The Lord then said to Moses, “Tell Aaron: Stretch out your hand with your staff over the rivers, canals, and ponds, and cause the frogs to come up onto the land of Egypt.” 6 When Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt, the frogs came up and covered the land of Egypt. 7 But the magicians did the same thing by their occult practices and brought frogs up onto the land of Egypt.
So, once again, the magicians were able to duplicate the frogs with their "occult practices"
Exodus 8:8 Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said, “Ask Yahweh to remove the frogs from me and my people. Then I will let the people go and they can sacrifice to Yahweh.”
9 Moses said to Pharaoh, “You make the choice rather than me. When should I ask on behalf of you, your officials, and your people, that the frogs be taken away from you and your houses, and remain only in the Nile?”
10 “Tomorrow,” he answered.
Moses replied, “As you have said, so you may know there is no one like Yahweh our God,11 the frogs will go away from you, your houses, your officials, and your people. The frogs will remain only in the Nile.” 12 After Moses and Aaron went out from Pharaoh, Moses cried out to the Lord for help concerning the frogs that He had brought against Pharaoh. 13 The Lord did as Moses had said: the frogs in the houses, courtyards, and fields died. 14 They piled them in countless heaps, and there was a terrible odor in the land.
Pharaoh agreed  to let the people go if the frogs were taken away.  So Moses agreed and asked God to remove the frogs from Egypt, which God did.
Exodus 8:15 But when Pharaoh saw there was relief, he hardened his heart and would not listen to them, as the Lord had said.
How many times do we tell God I will do this when this other thing happens.  Take away this hardship or time consuming activity and I will devote more time to you.  I will conform to Your will when this situation is resolved.  How many times are these burdens removed and we still do not devote that time to our Lord?  We fill it with other things instead spending the time with him and conforming to His will.  Our hearts are hard toward's God, just like Pharaoh's heart was hardened and he refused to let the people leave after the relief came from the frogs.

Notice the end of 15 says "as the Lord had said."  Remember, that earlier in the book of Exodus, God tells Moses that he would make Pharaoh's heart hard and Pharaoh would not listen to Moses.  God had this all planned out.  God planned out each plague to show his power and dominion over all the earth, every aspect from the water they drank, the food they ate, the health they had, the weather they experienced, and their comfort and their very lives.  The plagues were designed by God to show that he was the most powerful and His will WILL be done, no matter what.  Our Lord is the one true God and these plagues were to demonstrate that fact to the Egyptians and Israelites equally.  Even though the Israelites were not affected by some of the plagues directly, they were able to see the power of their God in delivering them from the oppression by punishing the Egyptians.

The only other reference to frogs in the Bible (other than verses directly referencing the plagues) comes from Revelation:
Revelation 16:12 The sixth poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up to prepare the way for the kings from the east. 13 Then I saw three unclean spirits like frogs coming from the dragon’s mouth, from the beast’s mouth, and from the mouth of the false prophet. 14 For they are spirits of demons performing signs, who travel to the kings of the whole world to assemble them for the battle of the great day of God, the Almighty.

Here the frog-like spirits are demons, enemies of our Lord.  On the great day of the Lord, God will show his power of the demons, these frog-like spirits by defeating them once and for all.

Wednesday, July 3, 2013

Exodus 7:14-25 -- The Water Turns to Blood

Exodus 7:14 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Pharaoh's heart is hardened; he refuses to let the people go. 15 Go to Pharaoh in the morning, as he is going out to the water. Stand on the bank of the Nile to meet him, and take in your hand the staff that turned into a serpent. 16 And you shall say to him, ‘The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, sent me to you, saying, “Let my people go, that they may serve me in the wilderness.” But so far, you have not obeyed. 17 Thus says the Lord, “By this you shall know that I am the Lord: behold, with the staff that is in my hand I will strike the water that is in the Nile, and it shall turn into blood. 18 The fish in the Nile shall die, and the Nile will stink, and the Egyptians will grow weary of drinking water from the Nile.”’” 19 And the Lord said to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘Take your staff and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt, over their rivers, their canals, and their ponds, and all their pools of water, so that they may become blood, and there shall be blood throughout all the land of Egypt, even in vessels of wood and in vessels of stone.’”
20 Moses and Aaron did as the Lord commanded. In the sight of Pharaoh and in the sight of his servants he lifted up the staff and struck the water in the Nile, and all the water in the Nile turned into blood. 21 And the fish in the Nile died, and the Nile stank, so that the Egyptians could not drink water from the Nile. There was blood throughout all the land of Egypt. 22 But the magicians of Egypt did the same by their secret arts. So Pharaoh's heart remained hardened, and he would not listen to them, as the Lord had said. 23 Pharaoh turned and went into his house, and he did not take even this to heart. 24 And all the Egyptians dug along the Nile for water to drink, for they could not drink the water of the Nile.
25 Seven full days passed after the Lord had struck the Nile.
Again Moses and Aaron showed Pharaoh a sign from God and again his magicians were able to duplicate it using "secret arts."  This was the first plague brought on Egypt by God to show his power and strength in judgment against a people who mistreated the Israelites.  All of the water turned to blood, the fish died and the river stunk.  They could not drink the water.  This is a big deal since the Nile was the main source of water for everyone in the area.  Since the rest of the Egyptian area was dessert, the Nile was necessary for life.

The turning the Nile into blood is similar to what will happen one day as Christ returns:
Revelation 16:4 The third poured out his bowl into the rivers and the springs of water, and they became blood. 5 I heard the angel of the waters say:
You are righteous,
who is and who was, the Holy One,
for You have decided these things.
6 Because they poured out
the blood of the saints and the prophets,
You also gave them blood to drink;
they deserve it!
7 Then I heard someone from the altar say:
Yes, Lord God, the Almighty,
true and righteous are Your judgments.
This is one of the judgments poured out on a sinful and wretched world.  Sinners have spilled the blood of the righteous, so God has given them blood to drink as a punishment.
Revelation 11:3 I will empower my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, dressed in sackcloth.” 4 These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth. 5 If anyone wants to harm them, fire comes from their mouths and consumes their enemies; if anyone wants to harm them, he must be killed in this way. 6 These men have the power to close up the sky so that it does not rain during the days of their prophecy. They also have power over the waters to turn them into blood and to strike the earth with every plague whenever they want.   
At the end of times, the two witnesses will have the power to bring plagues upon the earth, much like the plagues that God brought on the Egyptians, one of which is turning the water into blood.

Exodus 7:1-13 -- Pharaoh's Heart Hardened

Exodus 7:1 And the Lord said to Moses, “See, I have made you like God to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron shall be your prophet. 2 You shall speak all that I command you, and your brother Aaron shall tell Pharaoh to let the people of Israel go out of his land. 3 But I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and though I multiply my signs and wonders in the land of Egypt, 4a Pharaoh will not listen to you. 
 So, here God told Moses that Pharaoh would not listen to him.  It did not matter if Moses could speak well and very eloquently or if he spoke broken and shuddered sentences, Pharaoh was not going to listen.  Moses's excuse of having "uncircumcised lips" did not matter because God had already hardened Pharaoh's heart.
Exodus 7:4b Then I will lay my hand on Egypt and bring my hosts, my people the children of Israel, out of the land of Egypt by great acts of judgment. 5 The Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I stretch out my hand against Egypt and bring out the people of Israel from among them.”
Why did God not simply allow his people to leave Egypt and go without bringing the harsh judgments on Egypt? Well, this verse answers that question: so the Egyptians will know that He is God.
Exodus 7:6 Moses and Aaron did so; they did just as the Lord commanded them. 7 Now Moses was eighty years old, and Aaron eighty-three years old, when they spoke to Pharaoh.
8 Then the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, 9 “When Pharaoh says to you, ‘Prove yourselves by working a miracle,’ then you shall say to Aaron, ‘Take your staff and cast it down before Pharaoh, that it may become a serpent.’” 10 So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and did just as the Lord commanded. Aaron cast down his staff before Pharaoh and his servants, and it became a serpent. 11 Then Pharaoh summoned the wise men and the sorcerers, and they, the magicians of Egypt, also did the same by their secret arts. 12 For each man cast down his staff, and they became serpents. But Aaron's staff swallowed up their staffs.13 Still Pharaoh's heart was hardened, and he would not listen to them, as the Lord had said.
Here, Moses and Aaron show Pharaoh they are from God by turning their staff into a snake, but Pharaoh's officials were able to do the same thing with their "secret arts."  Pharaoh still did not listen even when Moses's snake devoured all the other snakes.  The God of Israel was showing that he would over power the Egyptians by having the snake he created from the staff devour the others.

Exodus 6:14-30 -- Genealogy and Recap

Exodux 6:14 These are the heads of their fathers' houses: the sons of Reuben, the firstborn of Israel: Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi; these are the clans of Reuben. 15 The sons of Simeon: Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jachin, Zohar, and Shaul, the son of a Canaanite woman; these are the clans of Simeon. 16 These are the names of the sons of Levi according to their generations: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari, the years of the life of Levi being 137 years.17 The sons of Gershon: Libni and Shimei, by their clans. 18 The sons of Kohath: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel, the years of the life of Kohath being 133 years. 19 The sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi. These are the clans of the Levites according to their generations.20 Amram took as his wife Jochebed his father's sister, and she bore him Aaron and Moses, the years of the life of Amram being 137 years. 21 The sons of Izhar: Korah, Nepheg, and Zichri. 22 The sons of Uzziel: Mishael, Elzaphan, and Sithri. 23 Aaron took as his wife Elisheba, the daughter of Amminadab and the sister of Nahshon, and she bore him Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. 24 The sons of Korah: Assir, Elkanah, and Abiasaph; these are the clans of the Korahites. 25 Eleazar, Aaron's son, took as his wife one of the daughters of Putiel, and she bore him Phinehas. These are the heads of the fathers' houses of the Levites by their clans.
Why are only 3 tribes listed?  I have no idea.  They do focus on the Levites the most, but that is because Moses and Aaron are from the tribe of Levi.  I believe this genealogy serves the purpose of showing how Moses and Aaron are related to Israel.  They are Levites.  
Exodus 6:26 These are the Aaron and Moses to whom the Lord said: “Bring out the people of Israel from the land of Egypt by their hosts.” 27 It was they who spoke to Pharaoh king of Egypt about bringing out the people of Israel from Egypt, this Moses and this Aaron.
The genealogy shows exactly which Moses and Aaron are doing the acts, so that no one can be confused as to who they are.  
Exodus 6:28 On the day when the Lord spoke to Moses in the land of Egypt, 29 the Lord said to Moses,“I am the Lord; tell Pharaoh king of Egypt all that I say to you.” 30 But Moses said to the Lord, “Behold, I am of uncircumcised lips. How will Pharaoh listen to me?”
These verses seem to recap everything that has happened so far in the story.  The Lord told Moses to speak, and Moses said he could not.  At this point, we already know that Moses spoke to Pharaoh once and the people's sufferings became more.  The people of Israel stopped listening to Moses and Moses said he could not speak again because if the people did not listen, why would Pharaoh.

Tuesday, July 2, 2013

Exodus 5:1 - 6:13 -- Sufferings of Israel

Exodus 5:1 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.’” 2 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.”
If I am not mistaken, the Egyptian Pharaoh's viewed themselves as gods, so for Moses and Aaron to come and tell Pharaoh that THE Lord, THE God of Israel, commanded this, was them telling Pharaoh their is one more powerful than he was.
Exodus 5:3 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.”4 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.” 5 And Pharaoh said, “Behold, the people of the land are now many, and you make them rest from their burdens!” 6 The same day Pharaoh commanded the taskmasters of the people and their foremen, 7 “You shall no longer give the people straw to make bricks, as in the past; let them go and gather straw for themselves. 8 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. Therefore they cry, ‘Let us go and offer sacrifice to our God.’ 9 Let heavier work be laid on the men that they may labor at it and pay no regard to lying words.”
So, as a result of Moses and Aaron going to Pharaoh and asking for the people to leave and go worship, Pharaoh decides to make their work even harder.  They had to gather their own straw to make bricks and still had to make the same amount.
Exodus 5:10 So the taskmasters and the foremen of the people went out and said to the people, “Thus says Pharaoh, ‘I will not give you straw. 11 Go and get your straw yourselves wherever you can find it, but your work will not be reduced in the least.’” 12 So the people were scattered throughout all the land of Egypt to gather stubble for straw. 13 The taskmasters were urgent, saying, “Complete your work, your daily task each day, as when there was straw.” 14 And the foremen of the people of Israel, whom Pharaoh's taskmasters had set over them, were beaten and were asked, “Why have you not done all your task of making bricks today and yesterday, as in the past?”
I think the answer to this question is obvious!  They were given more work.  The hours in the day did not increase too... the stamina of their bodies also did not increase.
Exodus 5:15 Then the foremen of the people of Israel came and cried to Pharaoh, “Why do you treat your servants like this? 16 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.” 17 But he said, “You are idle, you are idle; that is why you say, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to the Lord.’18 Go now and work. No straw will be given you, but you must still deliver the same number of bricks.” 19 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, your daily task each day.”20 They met Moses and Aaron, who were waiting for them, as they came out from Pharaoh;21 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.”
The leaders of Israel saw that they were being punished because of what Moses and Aaron did.  The people, in turn did not like Moses and Aaron too much.  
Exodus 5:22 Then Moses turned to the Lord and said, “O Lord, why have you done evil to this people? Why did you ever send me? 23 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.”
Moses did not doubt God, he was asking "why haven't you acted already?"  God had his perfect time for the people to leave. He, in time, allowed them to gather a mass amount of wealth, and by showering the plagues on Egypt, the Israelites were able to see the power of their God first hand.
Exodus 6:1 But the Lord said to Moses, “Now you shall see what I will do to Pharaoh; for with a strong hand he will send them out, and with a strong hand he will drive them out of his land.”
2 God spoke to Moses and said to him, “I am the Lord. 3 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. 4 I also established my covenant with them to give them the land of Canaan, the land in which they lived as sojourners. 5 Moreover, I have heard the groaning of the people of Israel whom the Egyptians hold as slaves, and I have remembered my covenant. 6 Say therefore to the people of Israel, ‘I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from slavery to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great acts of judgment. 7 I will take you to be my people, and I will be your God, and you shall know that I am the Lord your God, who has brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. 8 I will bring you into the land that I swore to give to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. I will give it to you for a possession. I am the Lord.’” 9 Moses spoke thus to the people of Israel, but they did not listen to Moses, because of their broken spirit and harsh slavery.
The people would not listen to Moses because they felt that he was the reason for their most recent suffering.  
Exodus 6:10 So the Lord said to Moses, 11 “Go in, tell Pharaoh king of Egypt to let the people of Israel go out of his land.” 12 But Moses said to the Lord, “Behold, the people of Israel have not listened to me. How then shall Pharaoh listen to me, for I am of uncircumcised lips?” 13 But the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron and gave them a charge about the people of Israel and about Pharaoh king of Egypt: to bring the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt.
Again, Moses is complaining to God that his speech is not sufficient enough to convince Pharaoh, since his own people would not listen to him.  We know, that at the end of this story, the Israelites indeed leave Egypt.  God performs 12 judgments, or plagues on Egypt that prompts Pharaoh to drive them out.