Introduction: Read Exodus6v13to7v13.

Four parties were involved in the events leading up to the nine plagues of Egypt: Moses and Aaron, Pharaoh, the Israelite elders and the LORD. I think it will be most helpful to examine the passage under these four headings.

(1) Moses and Aaron.

In the run up to the plagues Moses exhibits a variety of emotions. He was:

(a) Over confident. Moses and Aaron went before Pharaoh buoyed up by the positive reaction of the Israelite elders to the message they brought and the miracles they performed. See Ex4v29to31. Perhaps the ease with which the Hebrew leaders had been won over made Moses careless. He seems to forget the warning given him by God that Pharaoh would be obdurate and refuse to let the Hebrews go.

According to Alex Motyer Moses and Aaron made their request of Pharaoh in a bumptious and triumphalist fashion. In Moses mind it was a done deal- 'all over bar the shouting.'

This led to Moses and Aaron making the mistake of not following God's instructions to the letter - See Ex3v18. It does not appear that Moses and Aaron took the Israelite elders with them to speak to Pharaoh. They also requested leave of absence for the Israelites to hold a festival of indeterminate length in the desert whereas God had told them to ask permission to travel for three days into the wilderness to make sacrifices to the LORD their God.

All God's servants need to beware of presumption and to pay special heed to God's word. King Saul thought it would be all right for him to offer sacrifices in place of the priests. It wasn't. David decided to move the Ark from Kiriath Jearim to Jerusalem by ox cart rather than the designated way and the result was that a man died. The apostle Peter was absolutely certain he would never disown his Lord - despite warnings from Jesus that he would do so - AND HE DID.

We often presume too much - that we can succeed in Christian service without God's help or we can ignore the plain teaching of Scripture and do it our way. It is pretty clear from the Bible that marriage is something that takes place between a man and a woman - not same sex couples. The world may disagree - which seems to worry the Archbishop of Canterbury - but Christians do not take their values from the world.

(b) Chastened. It is possible that there was an interval of time between verse 2 and verse 3. It seems that at this second meeting with Pharaoh the elders were present because Pharaoh complained that Moses and Aaron were keeping them from work and he told them to get back to work.

Although Moses and Aaron were in the will of God the situation of the Israelites got worse rather than better. The work gangs were ordered to provide their own straw for brick making While still fulfilling the same quoto of bricks - an almost impossible task. When the quotos were not met the Hebrew foremen were beaten.

Obedience to God does not guarantee immediate blessing. God had warned Moses that Pharaoh would prove unwillingly to concede to their demands. Many of God's servants have had to persevere in the will of God a long time before seeing any fruit for their labour. Abraham's faith was tested to the limit because he had to wait a long time for a son and heir. We read the LORD was with Joseph but that did not spare him from several years of slavery followed by more years in prison. Elijah won a great victory for the LORD on Mt Carmel only to be forced to flee for his life because of the threats of Queen Jezebel. Jesus was in the will of God but this did not stop him being despised and rejected of men - nailed to a cross - taunted and mocked. The Saviour was obedient unto death!

We should not want quick and easy success. I am inclined to think the only success in Christian service worth having is hard earned.

(c) Disgruntled. Moses very put out by the outcome of his interview with Pharaoh. He let God know exactly how he felt. "Oh LORD why have you brought trouble upon this people? Is this why you sent me? Ever since I went to Pharaoh in your name, he has brought trouble upon this people and you have not rescued your people at all." 5v22.

There is little doubt Moses felt rejected - by Pharaoh and worse, his own people. The Hebrews turned on Moses and told him: "You have made us a stench to Pharaoh and his officials."

Insofar as Moses was in the will of God, it was not so much him, but God who was rejected. Today, in Britain, Christians feel rebuffed and hurt when the gospel is spurned. We should remember it is not primarily us, or the gospel, but God who is unwanted. We ought to be sorry for Christ's sake rather than nurse a bruised ego.

(d) Dispirited. Moses attempted to cheer up the Israelites by telling them that God promised to free them from slavery and lead them out of Egypt to the land promised to their fathers. However the Hebrews didn't want to know. All they could think about was the deterioration in their situation and their cruel bondage.

So when God told Moses to go back to Pharaoh again and tell him to let the Israelites leave Egypt Moses was not at all keen. He told God: "If the Israelites will not listen to me, why would Pharaoh listen to me, since I speak with faltering lips?" 6v12.

A Christian leader or activist is always likely to be discouraged when he or she lacks the support of their brothers and sisters. Jephthah was disappointed when the Ephraimites did not join with him to fight the Ammonites. When they turned uppity at his success without them Jephthah taught the Ephraimites a lesson they wouldn't forget! The apostle Paul was very depressed when several in the church at Corinth appeared to turn against him. It was almost more than he could bear. He told Timothy in his second letter how sad he was that no man stood by him at his trial.

There is nothing quite so dispiriting for a pastor than to lack the support of his church members. It happens all the time and is reponsible for the break down of many of God's servants.

(2) Pharaoh.

Pharaoh illustrates three key characteristics of God's enemies:

(a) Defiance. Pharaoh refused Moses' request to let God's people go because he had no respect for the LORD. He retorted: "Who is the LORD that I should obey him and let Israel go? I do not know the LORD and I will not let Israel go." 5v2.

Pharaoh's admission that he doesn't know the LORD isn't proof that the LORD does not exist. ALL it reveals is the ignorance of Pharaoh. There are many in Western Europe like Pharaoh today. It is no good the church looking to such for any favours. The secularists in our society don't care about the persecution of Christians all over the world. They support Gay Rights but not the right of Christians to worship without fear of discrimination, dispossession and destruction.

In the Garden of Eden Satan in the form of a snake revealed his true nature. He encouraged Eve to defy God her creator. The serpent said to Eve, "Did God really say ..... ? You will not surely die. .... you will be like God." Gen3v1to5.

There are undoubtedly a great number of people today who cock a snoot at God. They are just like Pharaoh. In the end Pharaoh became very aware of God and God's awesome power.

(b) Self-interest. Pharaoh's main priority was always the amount of work he could get out of the Hebrew forced labour gangs. It is possible the Hebrew foremen of the labour gangs were also the elders of God's people. If a sizeable deputation of elders accompanied Moses and Aaron a second time into Pharaoh's presence this would explain why he accuses Moses of stopping them working and orders them back to work.

Self-interest and the profit motive has undoubtedly done Christianity harm. The devotees of mammon in the retail and entertainment businesses have turned Sunday into a day like any other in the week. Shop workers, entertainers and professional sportsmen are expected to work on Sunday which makes meeting for worship difficult.

(c) Malice. Pharaoh decided to make it harder for the Hebrews to fulfil their quota of bricks by cutting of their supply of straw. Then when the quotas were not made the foremen were beaten. Perhaps Pharaoh was attempting to discredit Aaron and Moses or maybe he thought if they were preoccupied with fulfilling brick quotas they wouldn't brood over a three day jaunt into the wilderness. I think, too, he was making things difficult for the Israelites out of malice and spite.

The enemies of God are the enemies of his people. The serpent in the Garden of Eden exulted over the downfall of Adam and Eve. Satan undermined our first parents out of malice and spite.

Satan's spite is seen in horrifying detail in everything that befell Jesus from his arrest in the Garden of Gethsemane to his death on the cross. Satan incited men and women to hide as it were their faces from the Prince of Peace and Lord of Glory.

Jesus told his disciples: "If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also." Jn15v20. How can the ongoing persecution of men and women simply for being Christian be explained except in terms of the malign malice of God's great but ultimately doomed enemy.

(3) The Israelite elders.

The elders illustrate some of the characteristics of nominal Christians. Jesus dealt with their type in his Parable of the Sower. They were like the seed that fell on stony ground. The elders:

(a) Were fair-weather believers. The elders were swept up by the moment. They saw the signs that Moses performed, they heard of God's intention to set them free and they and they were convinced. So the elders worshipped the LORD and went expectantly with Moses and Aaron to petition Pharaoh. They were just like the seed that fell on stony ground - the seed that sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. Mt13v5.

There are superficial Christians who thrive when things are going well for the church. They love to attend well attended fellowships. They are in their element with the arrival of a new pastor and all the attendant excitement and expectation.

(b) Lost heart when trouble came. The elders, who may well have been the foremen of the work gangs, could not cope with the harsh treatment meted out by the task masters when they failed to fulfil their quotas. They turned back to Pharaoh! They pleaded their case to him - their enemy! What they should have done was appeal to Moses and Aaron and, through them, to the LORD their God. God wasn't their enemy!

The seed that fell on stony ground sprung up so quickly and promised so much withered when the sun beat down upon it for lack of root.

A lot of so called Christians are like this - unable to endure hardship as good soldiers of Jesus Christ. Some abandon Christianity when God fails to heal a loved one and they die. What consolation is there for them in the world! Believers who are the life and soul of the party - while there still is a party - leave a church in haste when things get difficult. They make me sick!

(c) Turned against God's servants. The elders cursed Aaron and Moses. They said: May the LORD look upon you and judge you! You have made us a stench to Pharaoh and his officials and have put a sword in their hand to kill us." 5v21.

The elders were angry. It is understandable that they were angry. I daresay I would be angry for a beating I did not deserve. Unhappily for Moses and Aaron the elders transferred their anger to them. This was very unfair. Moses and Aaron were not the ones forcing them to make bricks without straw.

We must be careful not to transfer our anger to an innocent party. My mother did this. She would get upset at the backbiting among the ladies preparing sandwiches for the Good Friday tea. She would come home and vent her wrath upon my poor father. During my time as a teacher I did much the same thing. Some rascal would seriously annoy me. I would drag him before the deputy head and pour out my anger upon them both!

Many a pastor has copped a packet from a church member who has been angered by the behaviour of someone else in the fellowship. The church member has not followed the procedure outlined by Jesus, namely of first of all having it out with the offending party. No the church leader has to put up with transferred anger.

(d) Wouldn't listen. Moses and Aaron went to the elders and tried to encourage them with the promises the LORD made to deliver them from slavery but they paid no attention because of their discouragement and cruel bondage.

I can understand the attitude of the Israelites. A sore back in the present tends to be of greater concern than promises of future blessing. It is hard to rejoice in the prospect of eternal life when one is racked in pain. Very few of us, if we are honest, can say with Paul: For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 2Cor4v17. I am reminded of a little boy suffering from asthma who said to his grandfather, "Sorry granddad I can't smile today." I am afraid there are days for Christians like that; days when all they can say is, "Sorry Father - I can't smile today."

Having said that, it is a big mistake not to listen to Gods word's of comfort and encouragement. We can get a lot of help in times of difficulty and misery from the hymn book.

Though I cannot His goings see,
Nor all his footsteps find;
To wise to be mistaken, He,
Too good to be unkind.

God sets out to encourage Moses and Aaron after their disastrous encounter with both Pharaoh and the elders of Israel. He does so by telling his spokesmen about himself. He is the God:

(a) Of the mighty hand. Pharaoh will be forced to let God's people go. See 6v1. All over the world today Satan is compelled to let his captives go. Men and women are singing the words of Charles Wesley's greatest hymn:

Long my imprisoned spirit lay
Fast bound in sin and nature's night;
Thine eye diffused a quickening ray,
I woke, the dungeon flamed with light;
My chains fell off, my heart was free;
I rose, went forth, and followed Thee

(b) Of the Patriarchs - the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. He is the God who protects, preserves, provides and prospers. Jesus taught us to address God as Father. The Master said, "If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!"

(c) Of the Covenant. God covenanted with Abraham to give the land of Canaan to his descendants. The Israelites had been enslaved in Egypt long enough. The time had come to lead them to the Promised Land. A day WILL come when Jesus returns to this earth - a day of resurrection - a day when all believers will enter into their inheritance - a day we shall see Jesus and be like him - a day we will be forever with the Lord in the land that is brighter than day!

(d) In a special relationship with his people. God said to Moses: "I will redeem you with an outstretched arm ..... I will take you as my own people, and I will be your God."

These surely are words of immense comfort. The enslaved Israelites should have counted it a tremendous privilege to be God's very own people. They did not choose God for themselves - he chose them for himself.

Christians surely can take heart from the words of Peter: But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 1Pet2v9.

(e) Who never gives up. Between chapter 6 verse 12 and chapter 7 verse 1 God urges Moses and Aaron FIVE times to persevere and to go back to Pharaoh with their demands.

We should be encouraged to persevere in prayer and Christian service by the knowledge that God will never give up seeking and saving the lost.

Alec Motyer writes: In times of despair its best to ignore our feelings and simply do what God tells us to do, leaving the consequences with Him.