(Exodus 5)
When God made His covenant with Abraham and promised that He would bless and multiply his descendants and give them the land of Canaan as their home, He also foretold a difficult season in the nation’s history: He said that for four hundred years, Abraham’s descendants would be enslaved and mistreated in a foreign country. But at the end of those four hundred years, they would come out with great wealth and return to the land of Canaan.(Genesis 15:13-16)
When Jacob took all his children and grandchildren and moved to Egypt at the ripe old age of 130, he went to be happily reunited with his long-lost favorite son. He went as the honored guest of Pharaoh and of his son Joseph who was second in command over all the land. He went to find refuge from the drought and famine that had ravaged the entire country. He went because the Lord’s providential hand of salvation led him there.
But one generation later, after Joseph and his brothers had died, the place that had been Israel’s salvation became the place of Israel’s captivity. A new Pharaoh came to power who knew and cared nothing about Joseph. All he knew was that the Israelites were multiplying rapidly and they posed a threat to his empire. So he oppressed them with forced labor and worked them ruthlessly. He made them do harsh work out in the fields, and making brick and mortar. And so the Israelites became bitterly enslaved by the Egyptians.
But now, after four hundred years, God has called Moses to lead them out of captivity.
Let’s reflect for a minute on the fact that the people of Israel had been slaves in Egypt for four hundred years. That means every living Israelite had been born into slavery and spent their whole lives serving the tyrannical Pharaoh. They had spent their whole lives under the heavy burden of harsh manual labor. They didn’t know what freedom felt like. They had never experienced independence or the patriotism of belonging to their own nation. And although they had heard of the promises God had given to their ancestors, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, I am sure they often wondered whether they would ever really make it back to Canaan and see the Promised Land with their own eyes. After an entire lifetime of nothing but misery and desperation, they probably felt like things would never get any better. They probably felt like God had forgotten them.
Now imagine how they must have felt when Moses appears to tell them that their time of deliverance had come. He tells them that God has remembered them, that He has seen their misery and heard their cries. He tells them everything that the Great “I AM” had said at the burning bush and he performs for them the miraculous signs that God had given him to show Pharaoh. He tells them about how God promised to rescue them from Pharaoh's hand, and make the Egyptians favorably disposed towards them. He tells them they are going to be set free! Imagine the anticipation and the thrill of hope they must have felt to receive such wonderful news. The Scripture says that when they heard that the Lord was concerned about their suffering, they bowed down in worship. (Exodus 4:31) They were full of joy and gratitude. They had to stop and praise Yahweh for His goodness.
But then we get to Exodus 5. Moses and Aaron muster up their courage and go before Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. And based on everything God had said and done so far, both they and the Israelites were fully anticipating that God would stretch out His mighty hand, and Pharaoh would release them to go. They were expecting deliverance. After all, that’s what they had just been promised. But that’s not at all what happens. Instead, the Pharaoh is completely outraged. He’s not about to let the people leave their labor, and demands them to get back to work. And what’s worse is that he orders the slave drivers to no longer supply them with straw for making bricks. They have to go and gather their own straw, but they’re still required to make the same number of bricks as they did before. The people scatter to collect the straw needed, and the slave drivers harass them about not making enough bricks and beat them for not filling their quota. When the Israelite overseers appeal to Pharaoh about such unreasonable demands, he calls them lazy and lets them know that this is the way things are going to be from now on.
As you would expect, they are incredibly disheartened. After receiving the first little glimmer of hope they’ve ever had, it would have been devastating to have it so quickly snatched away. Instead of setting them free like they were expecting, Pharaoh makes their unbearable workload impossible. Instead of things getting better, they get much worse.
Moses is just as discouraged and confused. He complains to God, “Why have you brought this trouble on your people? Is this what your great plan was? All Pharaoh has done is make trouble for us. You haven’t rescued them at at all!” (Exodus 5:22 paraphrase, mine) God assures Moses that He has heard the Israelites’ groaning and that He has remembered His covenant to deliver them and give them the land of Canaan as their inheritance. But when Moses tries to tell this to the Israelites they don’t want to hear it. They won’t listen to him because of their discouragement and harsh labor. And can you really blame them? Why should they trust the God that seemingly just broke His promise and dashed their hopes into pieces?
But of course, that isn’t the end of the story. God does eventually deliver them up out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outreached arm, and leads them into the Promised Land. In the end, God kept every promise He had made. And yet in the moment, their situation must have felt devastating and disheartening. It would have seemed like God wasn’t going to come through for them.
Proverbs 13:12 says, “Hope deferred makes the heart sick.” When our expectations aren’t met, we feel disappointed and discouraged. When things get worse instead of better, we feel defeated and let down. When our hope is deferred, we feel sick with grief. Personally, I have experienced many situations in which things haven’t turned out the way I had hoped. I have wondered if God has forgotten His promises. I have doubted whether things could ever really get better.
Maybe you’ve felt that way too. Maybe the place you thought would bring salvation became a place of captivity. Maybe it seems like you’ve been in bondage for years. Maybe you don’t know what true freedom feels like. Maybe it seemed like something you had hoped for would finally come to pass, and then things just fell through. Maybe something you were anticipating with excitement didn’t actually turn out as well as you thought it would. Maybe you wonder if God’s promises are really for you. Maybe it feels like He’s not at work right now. Maybe it feels like He’s failed you or He’s holding out on you.
The hard reality is that sometimes things get worse before they get better. But that doesn’t mean God is not at work. Sometimes it feels like God has forgotten us. That doesn’t mean He has. Sometimes we feel alone. That doesn’t mean we are.
My friend, I want to encourage you to remember that your story isn’t over yet. God is a Father who delights in giving good gifts to His children. He has good plans for you full of hope, freedom, deliverance, healing, restoration, and abundant life. He is not withholding good things from you. But maybe His good is better than your idea of good. Maybe the breakthrough you’ve been waiting for is just around the corner, and you just can’t see it yet. Maybe your cross feels heavy, but you’re just a few days away from a resurrection story. Maybe your miracle is just a prayer away. Maybe your healing is about to become someone else’s inspiration. Maybe when you let go of the dream you’re clinging to and surrender it to God, He’ll replace it with something even better. I can promise you this, in full assurance of God’s enduring promises: the best is yet to come. God’s dreams for you are far more wonderful than anything you could ever ask or imagine.
So if you’re struggling right now, hold on a little bit longer. Don’t loose hope yet.“There are no hopeless situations, only people who have grown hopeless about them.” Your situation might feel hopeless, but it isn’t. God can and will redeem it. He will keep every promise and more. So don’t let yourself become a person without hope. Because Jesus is here to give you a hope that is sure and eternal.
To quote the verse in its entirety, “Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life.” (Proverbs 13:12) We have been given a Deliverer who fulfills our every desire. And we have been invited to eat from His Tree of Life. The book of Revelation says that the leaves of the tree of life are for the healing of the nations. (Revelation 22:2) Jesus came for your healing. And for mine. When we delight in the Lord He will become the desire of our hearts and He Himself will fulfill our desires. (Psalm 37:4) He will heal our hearts. He will restore, and deliver, and set free.
Things might get worse before they get better, but with Jesus, they will always be better in the end.
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