...stop blaming God...

“15 Then the Israelite supervisors came to Pharaoh and cried, ‘Why do you treat your servants like this? 16 No straw is given to your servants, yet they say to us, “Make bricks!” Look how your servants are beaten! You are unjust to your own people.’ 17 He said, ‘You are lazy, lazy; that is why you say, “Let us go and sacrifice to the Lord.” 18 Go now, and work; for no straw shall be given you, but you shall still deliver the same number of bricks.’ 19 The Israelite supervisors saw that they were in trouble when they were told, ‘You shall not lessen your daily number of bricks.’ 20 As they left Pharaoh, they came upon Moses and Aaron who were waiting to meet them. 21 They said to them, ‘The Lord look upon you and judge! You have brought us into bad odor with Pharaoh and his officials, and have put a sword in their hand to kill us.’

22 Then Moses turned again to the Lord and said, ‘O Lord, why have you mistreated this people? Why did you ever send me? 23 Since I first came to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has mistreated this people, and you have done nothing at all to deliver your people’” Exodus 5:15-23.

Dear friends, the situation has transformed from one of hopefulness and faith (4:31) to resentment and doubt. Why? Because of Pharaoh's intransigence. He clearly is portrayed here as unyielding, determined to put the Israelites in their place, suggesting that the Israelites were going to need something much stronger than words to convince him to change his mind.

When the bad news from the Pharaoh was delivered and the foremen had left the court and found Moses and Aaron outside (by all appearances, waiting in order to be supportive), the resentment and frustration engendered by their defeat at court boiled over into an angry accusation at the two brother leaders (“You have made us a stench to Pharaoh and his officials and have put a sword in their hand to kill us,” v. 21). But did you notice that the foremen did not state that they had lost faith in Yahweh! Apparently they had not actually overthrown their newfound faith. They apparently thought, however, that Moses and Aaron could not have properly represented the case or handled it well and thus had disobeyed Yahweh (“May the LORD look upon you and judge you!”). Behind this rebuke appears to be the conviction that Moses and Aaron needed judgment because the nation's God, Yahweh, would not have let such a thing happen without his will having been thwarted by these leaders. The presumption that a good God never lets dangerous or harmful events happen to his people, false as it has always been, is a very old belief.

I know that God, who is a good God, allows bad things to happen to all of us. Israel is no exception. The belief that a Good God would never allow harm to fall upon us is quite an incorrect belief. Jesus would not have chosen to die on the Cross if that was the case. I am experiencing this truth as we speak, because my 33 year-old son was tragically killed 4 weeks ago. I cannot blame God, despite the fact that He is a good God. Faith and trust in God is what our life is all about, in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health, for richer and for poorer, until we die.

Today, then, in your prayer, stop blaming God. Instead, trust Him, love Him, and be faithful to God. And when you sin, run back to Him.

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, have mercy on me a sinner.