Many years ago I recall watching the Disney cartoon Robin Hood. The character Alan-a-Dale was a minstrel whose voice was Roger Miller. I can still remember the words in the song of lament he sung over the dismal conditions at one point in Nottingham: “Every town has its ups and downs; sometimes the ups outweigh the downs; but not in Nottingham.”
In our text Moses is coming from a happy scene. He had been away from the Israelites for 40 years. God had sent him to Israel to convey the words he had given Moses with respect to their deliverance from Egypt. The
y had bowed and worshipped the Lord. Moses had thought they would not believe him, but as God promised, they did. This had to be a great encouragement to Moses.
Now Moses must go before Pharaoh. Moses wants to see Israel’s condition get better. After he meets with Pharaoh, it is about to get much worse. He is about to enter into a low time. The happy reunion with his brethren is about to be replaced with a dark cloud. Nevertheless the end of the matter will be the deliverance of Israel. In the down times it is hard to see that promised light. This is true for Christians; no matter the dark times, there is an end to it replaced by permanent light.
There are two things in this verse particularly helpful to Christians in the dark times. The first is the certainty of God’s word. Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said: “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘Let my people go, that they may hold a feast to me in the wilderness.’”
Before we look at the content of the words, we should observe the remarkable faithfulness of Moses. In front of Pharaoh was not where Moses would have chosen to be, nor are these the words Moses would have chosen to use. Pharaoh was absolute in his reign. He was looked upon as divine by his people. He could erupt at any moment. His predecessor had murdered Hebrew children.
We remember that Moses was very reluctant to undertake the commission God had given him. He had several reservations about God’s selection of him to be his instrument. Yet when Moses got to Egypt, he was very exact in his obedience. He told the Israelites all the words God had given him, and here we see him relaying to Pharaoh God’s demands. Whatever else reservations Moses had, he handled the word of God carefully and faithfully.
“Thus says the Lord” is a prophetic formula. We see it over and over again in prophets such as Isaiah or Jeremiah. It denotes or identifies the principal speaker which is not Moses or Aaron. It is the Lord, the living God, who is, and was, and will be who speaks to Pharaoh. The “Let my people go” is a command, but it is also a prophecy. There is nothing Pharaoh can do to stop what God has purposed to do.
Every promise of God is yea and amen in Christ. Consider in whatever circumstances you are in now, if you belong to Christ nothing can prevent your eternal happiness. God demonstrates throughout the Scriptures his word is inviolable. Scripture cannot be broken. So we live by every word of God, by faith not by sight.
The second help here is to see God’s disposition toward his people. He says let “my” people go. He claims Israel as his own. He is sovereign over the Egyptians, but they are not his people in a way of his covenant favor. He is telling Pharaoh, you have my people, and I am here to claim them. They are an oppressed, lowly people but they belong to God. Therefore, he has taken up their cause.
We must understand that God makes a distinction between his people and the world. Jesus said: “This cup is the new covenant in my blood which is poured out for many for the remission of sin.” The promise is for those who come to him. He claims them as his own. He sets them free from sin, death, and the devil.
God also says they are to be let go to “Hold a feast to me,” meaning to worship Him. Those who are delivered by Christ are delivered in order to glorify and worship God. This is their purpose in life; to endeavor in whatsoever they do to honor God in it. When they do this in remembrance of his mercies, the light breaks into the darkness, and a new day has begun.
