Word of Encouragement (06/28/2022)

Then Moses turned to the LORD and said, “O Lord, why have you done evil to this people? Why did you ever send me? For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has done evil to this people, and you have not delivered your people at all.” (Ex. 5:22-23)

This is a prayer of lament. Moses was complaining to God that things had gotten only worse for Israel since God sent him back to Pharaoh. When Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and demanded that he let Israel go and worship God in the wilderness, he accused Israel of being idle and made Israel’s burden heavier by not providing the straws needed to make bricks. When the Israelites came and complained to Moses, he cried out to God with this lament.

We can understand how Moses felt. When we obey God’s will, we expect God to be pleased with us, which would naturally lead Him to bless us. So, we are taken aback when our lives get harder and things get more difficult. We feel like God is punishing us for obeying Him rather than blessing us. Then, why bother obeying Him?

Let us first observe that God didn’t rebuke and punish Moses for this lament. In response, God 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” (6:1). God continued to show His patience with him, explaining (again!) why God allowed this to happen and what He would do. God is patient and gracious. He understands our weakness and, when we lament in our weakness, God does not treat us harshly. We should not be afraid to express our sorrow and fear to God. After all, God knows what is going on in our hearts already!

But we can still point out how Moses was being presumptuous in his lament. He did not bother to ask what God was doing, acknowledging the possibility that he was not seeing the full picture of God’s plan. Moses simply accused God of doing evil to His people by bringing him back to Egypt. Did he not learn his lessons from his previous encounter with the LORD? Everything he thought would happen—how the Israelites might ask the name of God and question his credibility, etc.—did not happen. When Moses and Aaron came to them and conveyed God’s message, “the people believed; and when they heard that the LORD had visited the people of Israel and that he had seen their affliction, they bowed their heads and worshiped” (4:31). Did he still trust his assessment of the situation more than God’s promises and assurances?

Besides, God had already told him that Pharaoh would not let the Israelites go so easily without a fight: “When you go back to Egypt, see that you do before Pharaoh all the miracles that I have put in your power. But I will harden his heart, so that he will not let the people go” (4:21). Could he not see that the intensification of Pharaoh’s persecution was all a part of God’s plan?

Are you lamenting about anything? Why are you so grieved? Is it because the pain is so great? Is it because you are confused and disoriented by what is happening because it seems contrary to what God has promised? God understands. You can come to Him and ask all your questions and even complain. But is your grief so much greater because you are being presumptuous about the way of God and judging Him by your limited understanding? Let us humble ourselves before our all-wise, all-powerful, and all-loving God. Let us cast all our cares and fears upon Him without accusing Him of evil because He loves us and He will never do anything to harm us, for whom His only begotten Son laid down His precious life to save us. And did He not say, “In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33)? Let us wait patiently on the Lord and persevere in faith whatever trial the world may set before us.

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