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When I was a boy growing up outside of New York City, I was an avid fan of the Brooklyn Dodgers. In fact, I have not yet quite forgiven them for moving west. The archenemy in my childhood was the New York Yankees. I had seen them only on television and heard them only on the radio until I was invited by my father to skip school and to go to the World Series game between the Yankees and the Dodgers. I'll tell you, it was one of the great thrills of my childhood. I remember sitting there, smelling the hot dogs and hearing the cheers of the crowd and the feel of it all. I knew those Dodgers were going to shellac those Yankees once and for all. Unfortunately the Dodgers never got on base, so my thrill was shattered. I tucked it away somewhere in my unconscious until, as an adult, I was in a conversation with one of these fellows who was a walking sports almanac. I mentioned to him when I went to my first major league game. I said, "It was such a disappointment. I was a Dodger fan and the Dodgers never got on base."
He said, "You were there? You were at the game when Don Larsen pitched the only perfect game in all of World Series history?"
I said, "Yeah, but, uh, we lost." I was so caught up in my team's defeat that I missed out on the fact that I was a witness to a far greater page of history.
Leith Anderson, "Unlistened-to Lessons of Life," Preaching Today, Tape 48.
EXODUS 5—6
When Moses and Aaron began their work in Egypt, their first problem was with Pharaoh (5:1-9). Not only did Pharaoh refuse to let the people leave Egypt, but he made their work more difficult. That gave Moses a second problem—his own people, who blamed him for their plight (5:20-21). He had a foretaste of the criticism and rebellion he would experience for the next forty years. Often the people you help the most appreciate you the least.
Moses’ third problem was with the Lord Himself (5:22—23)1 God had promised success but Moses had failed. Even the Jews didn’t believe him! Madame Guyon spoke of these kinds of difficulties: “In the commencement of the spiritual life, our hardest task is to bear with our neighbor; in its progress, with ourselves; and in its end, with God.”
But God gave Moses the assurance that he needed (6:1-8) and told him to return to his job and stay with it. God doesn’t solve every problem immediately, nor does He follow your schedule. When you think you have failed, even when you have obeyed God’s will, ponder Isaiah 55:8-9 and Jeremiah 29:11.
With the Word - Warren W. Wiersbe
Thomas Nelson Publishers
Nashville
“Used by permission of Thomas Nelson, Inc.”
Exodus 6:1-9
Then the Lord said to Moses, "Now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh: Because of my mighty hand he will let them go; because of my mighty hand he will drive them out of his country."
[2] God also said to Moses, "I am the Lord. [3] I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob as God Almighty, but by my name the Lord I did not make myself known to them. [4] I also established my covenant with them to give them the land of Canaan, where they lived as aliens. [5] Moreover, I have heard the groaning of the Israelites, whom the Egyptians are enslaving, and I have remembered my covenant.
[6] "Therefore, say to the Israelites: 'I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. I will free you from being slaves to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment. [7] I will take you as my own people, and I will be your God. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. [8] And I will bring you to the land I swore with uplifted hand to give to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob. I will give it to you as a possession. I am the Lord.' "
[9] Moses reported this to the Israelites, but they did not listen to him because of their discouragement and cruel bondage.
