In our meditation this week, we are returning to our study of the life of Moses. In our last study in Exodus 5:4-27, we learned what happened to the children of Israel when Moses and Aaron went before Pharaoh and demanded that He release the Jews from slavery. Pharaoh told Moses and Aaron that he didn’t know who the Lord was and therefore had no obligation to free the Jews from slavery. Pharaoh’s personal response to the intrusive request was to cause extreme hardship on God’s people. No more straw would be provided to make bricks. The slaves had to gather their own straw and were still expected to produce their daily quota. The slaves accused Moses and Aaron of causing Pharaoh to hate and persecute them. Pharoah now had an excuse for killing the slaves for not doing what was expected. The Jewish leaders blamed Moses and Aaron for causing the severe problems they were experiencing. Then Moses and Aaron went to the Lord and blamed Him for causing the problems of hardship. Moses got discouraged and told the Lord that nothing good had happened for the slaves since he had arrived in Egypt. Moses accused the Lord of doing nothing to deliver His people from slavery (Exodus 6:17-23). Moses was beside himself.

The Lord’s response to Moses was to remind him of two important truths about God: 1) Focus on the LORD Jehovah who is the Eternal, Self-existent Creator and Sustainer of all things and possesses omnipotence; 2) Trust in God’s faithfulness in Keeping HIS PROMISES (Exodus 6:1-4). Moses had obviously forgotten that God had previously warned him that Pharoah wouldn’t initially listen to Moses and willingly free the Jews from slavery. God reassures Moses that He is going to manifest His power to Pharaoh and promises Moses that eventually, the entire nation of Israel would be freed from slavery (Exodus 6:5-8). The Lord promised to redeem Israel from slavery by making His people His personal possession. The Israelites would leave Egypt and be taken to the promised land and live there as an everlasting heritage in fulfillment of the Abrahamic covenant (Genesis 12:1-3, 15:17-20, 17:1-8). Moses took this message to the Jews, but they refused to believe it because of the severity and hardship of their suffering (Exodus 6:9). Moses was encouraged by the Lord’s promises because he was willing to go again before Pharaoh as God’s messenger. His FAITH in God’s Person, Power, and Promises revived his courage. The spiritual cure for discouragement and disappointment is to put your FOCUS ON GOD, not yourself.

Lessons to Be Learned

1. Discouragement can be caused by human self-reliance instead of faith in God.
2. God’s willingness to display His personal attributes and power in our lives will inspire optimism, hope, and courage.
3. God will ALWAYS BE FAITHFUL to carry out His PROMISES (Lamentations 3:22-23, 1 Corinthians 1:9, 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24).