When Moses and Aaron appear before Pharaoh in Exodus 5 to give him the message from God to let the Israelites go into the wilderness to offer sacrifices to Him, Pharaoh said, “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.” v. 2. The Egyptians worshipped many gods. Pharaoh spoke the truth. He didn’t know the Lord.

That same day Pharaoh gave this order to the slave drivers and overseers in charge of the people. “You are no longer to supply the people with straw for making bricks; let them go and gather their own straw. But require them to make the same number of bricks as before; don’t reduce the quota. They are lazy; that is why they are crying out, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to our God.’ Make the work harder for the people so that they keep working and pay no attention to lies.” v. 6-9.

It’s so interesting to me that Pharaoh said pay no attention to lies. How often do we hear that today? Fake news. Lies. Just like us, Pharaoh lived in a world with all kinds of “knowledge”. Egypt was a sophisticated society with massive buildings that are still evident today thousands of years later. They were the first to invent surgical techniques such as trepanning and stitching according to Dr. Google. But Pharaoh didn’t know the Lord.

The Israelite overseers realized they were in trouble when they were told, “You are not to reduce the number of bricks required of you for each day.” When they left Pharaoh, they found Moses and Aaron waiting to meet with them, and they said, “May the Lord look on you and judge you! You have made us obnoxious to Pharaoh and his officials and have put a sword in their hand to kill us.” v. 19-21.

I can’t imagine the kind of work load the Israelites had to endure or the impossibility of completing it with the added burdens Pharaoh imposed. Their lives must have become truly desperate. Moses turned to God. “Why, Lord, why have you brought trouble on this people? Is this why you sent me? Ever since I went to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has brought trouble on this people, and you have not rescued your people at all.” v. 22-23.

Moses had no idea what would be involved or how much time it would require to bring about a change in Pharaoh’s heart so that he would let a nation of slaves go. We get to turn the page and continue reading the steps and plagues required but they were living it and the way forward was unknown and frightening. One day our lives, too, will be a matter of history; turn a page to find out the ending. It can seem so simple when it’s words on a page but the living of those events is vastly different in every way.

Their descendants will be known among the nations and their offspring among the peoples. All who see them will acknowledge that they are a people the Lord has blessed. Isaiah 61:9. For as the soil makes the sprout come up and a garden causes seeds to grow, so the Sovereign Lord will make righteousness and praise spring up before all nations. Isaiah 61:11. Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. Revelation 22:1-2. The Lord will make righteousness and praise spring up before all nations…and the leaves of the tree of life are for the healing of the nations.

We can read about the desperation and despair of a people thousands of years ago and we can consider the desperation and despair that people today endure. And we can look ahead and read the promises of God that are just as sure as the sun rising and setting every day. Pharaoh didn’t know God. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for the images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles. Romans 1:22-23. Pharaoh may not have known God but God was there. Pharaoh was about to play a part in God’s plans. So was Moses. So are we. We are all of us part of the nations that will be healed by the love of God. One day Pharaoh will know God; he will experience the healing that only God’s love will bring.