Exodus 5-7

What I Noticed Today (Exodus 5-7)

Exodus 5:1-12:36

The eight chapters from 5-12 describe the confrontations between Moses and Pharaoh as he attempts to get Pharaoh to release the people of Israel. Moses demanded Pharaoh release the people of Israel twice (Exodus 5:1-5, and 7:10-13), and each time Pharaoh refused.

Exodus 5

In verses 1-5, Moses and Aaron confront Pharaoh for the first time:

• Moses and Aaron told Pharaoh the God of Israel (Yahweh), said to let me people go so they may worship Me in the wilderness.

• Pharaoh responds by rejecting God’s authority over him. Pharaoh says he does not know this God, and will not let the people go.
• Moses and Aaron told Pharaoh the God of the Hebrews had met with them and told them to go on a three-day trip into the wilderness to worship Him, or He may strike them with a plague or the sword.
• Pharaoh rejected their plea again, saying they needed to get back to work.

In verses 6-14, Pharaoh responds by increasing the oppression of the Israelites:

• That same day Pharaoh ordered the foremen to stop supplying straw to the Israelites for making bricks. They must get their own straw, but they must make the same number of bricks. He thought if they made the Israelites work even harder, they would not have time to think about worshipping God.
• Pharaoh’s slave drivers informed the Israelite foremen they had to get their own straw and still meet their daily quota of bricks.
• The slave drivers beat the foremen when they were unable to meet their daily quota of bricks as before.

In verses 15-19, the Israelite foremen appear before Pharaoh:

• The Israelite foremen appeared before Pharaoh to complain about the way they were being treated.
• Pharaoh accused them of being slackers (lazy), and that is why they wanted to worship the Lord. Pharaoh refused to lighten their workload.

In verses 20-23, The Israelite foremen accuse Moses and Aaron for their trouble:

• The Israelite foremen confronted Moses and Aaron, saying it was their fault Pharaoh was mistreating the people, and they would get them all killed.
• Moses immediately went and asked the Lord why He sent him to confront Pharaoh because now His people were being mistreated, and You have not delivered Your people.

Exodus 6

Chapter 6 includes God’s reassurance of His promise to Moses and the genealogy of Moses and Aaron.

In verses 1-9, God reassures Moses that He will free the people:

• God responds, now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh. He will let the people go because my strong hand against Pharaoh, will cause him to drive the people out of his land.
• Then God reminded Moses, “I am Yahweh.” He had appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob but had not revealed His name (Yahweh) to them.

• God had established a covenant with them to give them the land of Canaan.
• God had heard the pleas of the people and remembered His covenant.
• God told Moses to tell the Israelites His name (Yahweh) and that He would keep His promise to free the people from slavery and redeem them with great acts of judgment against the Egyptians.
• God promised to take the Israelites as His people and would be their God (a personal relationship). God also promised to take them to the land of Canaan that He promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and give it to them as their possession.
• Moses told the Israelites what God had said, but they did not listen to him because their spirits were broken.

In verses 10-13, God tells Moses to confront Pharaoh again:

• God tells Moses to go and tell Pharaoh to let His people go.
• But Moses responded to God if the people will not listen to me, why will Pharaoh listen to me?
• Then God spoke to Moses and Aaron, telling them both to go to Pharaoh and tell him to let the people go.

In verses 14-27, details the genealogy of Moses and Aaron:

• The sons of Rueben the first-born of Israel (Jacob).
• The sons of Simeon.
• The sons of Levi: Gershom, Kohath, and Merari.
  • The sons of Gershon.
  • The sons of Kohath: Amram, Ishar, Hebron, Uzziel.
  • The sons of Merari.
  • Amram married his father’s sister Jochebed, and she bore him Moses and Aaron.
• It was this Moses and this Aaron whom the Lord told to speak to Pharaoh to bring the people out of Egypt.

In verses 28-30, The Lord speaks to Moses again:

• The Lord spoke to Moses again, saying “I am Yahweh, go tell Pharaoh king of Egypt everything I am telling you.”
• But again, Moses was hesitant and told God he was such a poor speaker why will Pharaoh listen to me?

Exodus 7

Chapter 7, God commands Moses to speak to Pharaoh again, and the first plague is sent to Egypt.

In verses 1-13, God commands Moses and Aaron to go speak to Pharaoh again:

• God told Moses he would make him seem like a god to Pharaoh, and Aaron will be your prophet. You must say what I command you, and Aaron will speak it to Pharaoh.
• But, says God, I will harden Pharaoh’s heart and multiply my signs (miracles) in Egypt.

• Pharaoh will not let you go, but I (God) will bring My people out of Egypt by great acts of judgment. Then the Egyptians will know that I am Yahweh.
• So Moses and Aaron did this. Moses was 80 years old, and Aaron was 83 years old when they spoke to Pharaoh.
• The Lord told Moses and Aaron when Pharaoh tells you to perform a miracle, throw your staff down, and it will become a snake.
• Moses and Aaron went before Pharaoh, and Aaron threw down his staff, and it became a snake. Then Pharaoh called in his magicians, and they did the same thing. But Aaron’s staff swallowed their staffs. Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he would not listen to them.

Exodus 7:14 – 12:36 The Ten Plagues

God poured out ten judgments upon Egypt. There are three groups of three plagues, with a final tenth plague. The 1^st, 4^th, and 7^th plagues begin with “In the morning.”

The First Plague: Water Turned to Blood

In verses 14-25, the first plague is sent to Egypt.

• God instructs Moses and Aaron to confront Pharaoh the next morning while he is by the Nile river. Strike the river with the staff, and the Nile will turn to blood. The fish in the Nile will die, it will stink, and they will not be able to drink from it. Then have Aaron lift the staff, and the water throughout Egypt will turn to blood; all the rivers, tributaries, streams, even their reservoirs.
• Moses and Aaron did just as the Lord instructed, and the Nile turned to blood, the fish died, and all the water in Egypt turned to blood.
• But the magicians of Egypt did the same thing through their occult practices.
• Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, he would not take this to heart and returned to his palace.
• Egyptians had to dig wells for water because all the water in the Nile was unfit to drink. This lasted for seven days, before the second plague.

Some additional thoughts for consideration:

• Moses finally answers God's call on his life and experiences some surprising success when the people believe him, but that initial support turns to anger and bitterness when they face the trials of persecution from Pharaoh.
• We often experience similar situations when answering God’s call on our life. We see initial success, followed by a period of struggle and trial. We must trust God and remain faithful to Him if we expect to be successful.

What did you notice in your study today? Feel free to visit the website and leave a question or a comment.

Tomorrow: Exodus: 8-10