5 August Exodus 5

Who is the Lord that I should obey His voice

Exodus 5:1-2 (AMP) Afterward Moses and Aaron came and said to Pharaoh, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘Let My people go, so that they may celebrate a feast to Me in the wilderness.’” 2 But Pharaoh said, “Who is the Lord that I should obey His voice to let Israel go? I do not know the Lord, nor will I let Israel go.”

Who is the Lord? When Pharaoh asked about this, he showed more of his attitude than he had realised. Over the following ten chapters, we will see how God ensures this question is answered. Pharaoh will learn who the Lord is. By the time the Israelites leave Egypt, Pharaoh will have had an apparent encounter with the God who reveals Himself.

"Who is the Lord?" This question is central to the entire story of Exodus and a key question for the whole book of Exodus. Remember when Moses was in the wilderness in Midian, asking, "Who are You? What’s Your name? Who should I say sent me to Egypt?" Pharaoh asks a similar question: "Who is the Lord?"

Remember in Exodus 3, Moses asked God what he should say when Pharaoh is who God is? Working in the palace at a young age, he knew the customs and the gods they worshipped. God, almighty, was not one of them. Pharaoh was treated as a god in Egypt.

Exodus 3:13 – 14 (AMP) “Then Moses said to God, “Behold, when I come to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers (ancestors) has sent me to you,’ and they say to me, ‘What is His name?’ What shall I say to them?”. God said to Moses, “I Am Who I Am”; and He said, “You shall say this to the Israelites, ‘I Am has sent me to you.’

So, Pharaoh says, “I don’t know this God of yours. Who is He?” and “I don’t have to listen to Him.” Pharaoh sets himself up in place of God. He plans to defy a God that he doesn’t believe in. Pharaoh expresses his frustrations and unbelief on the Israelites, by having them make bricks without straw.

Exodus 5:6-9 (AMP) “The very same day Pharaoh gave orders to the taskmasters in charge of the people and their foremen, saying, 7 “You will no longer give the people straw to make brick as before; let them go and gather straw for themselves. 8 But the number of bricks which they were making before, you shall require of them; you are not to reduce it in the least. For they are idle and lazy; that is why they cry, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to our God.’ 9 Let labour be heavier on the men, and let them work at it so that they will pay no attention to lying words”.

Pharaoh said, "You're lying and lazy. You want to avoid work. You're not telling the truth. This is just an excuse to escape being slaves. You don't want to work hard. I don't believe you." Pharaoh thought that the words of God, and those of His messengers were lies.

Who is the Lord? This is the central question in the story of Exodus and the book of Exodus. Do you know the answer? Who is in control, not just in a general way, but in your own life? Who can you truly trust? Who will you follow? Who has real power? These are questions everyone must answer. We hope we will trust and believe in the One True God, this I Am, this God, this Jehovah, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. If not, we hope you will at least understand why.

Again, who is the Lord? Psalm 24:7-10 (ERV) answers this question so beautifully when it says “Gates, proudly lift your heads! Open, ancient doors, and the glorious King will come in. 8 Who is the glorious King? He is the Lord, the powerful soldier. He is the Lord, the war hero. 9 Gates, proudly lift your heads! Open, ancient doors, and the glorious King will come in. 10 Who is the glorious King? The Lord All-Powerful is the glorious King”.