CRITICAL NOTES.—
Exodus 5:1. Hold a feast] That is, of course, a religious festival,—a “holyday,” as the same word is rendered Psalms 42:4; “with processions and dancing,” of we keep close to the primary meaning of the Hebrew word châ ghagh “to move in a circle.” However open to abuse, we cannot afford to let slip the propriety of joy in worship. The infinitely blessed Jehovah would be served with gladness. His own holy joy seeks to overflow into the hearts of his saints; and this it does if ever, in those direct acts of homage which he himself has instituted.
Exodus 5:2. Neither will I let Israel go] Or, rather: “And certainly I will not let ISRAEL go,”—the language of tyrannical determination and bold defiance. As much as to say: “[know not Jehovah; but even if I did, THAT would make no difference.”
Exodus 5:3. Hath met with us] And this may be an adequate rendering. But the construction (with the preposition, ‘al, “upon”), and the context, rather strongly favour the more forcible meaning attributed by Fürst and Davies to qâ râ (see under qâ-râ No. II), ‘to strike upon, or hit against a thing.” This hint might lead us to interpret the words thus: “The God of the Hebrews has encountered us;” i.e., “has laid an arrest upon us”—“His call is imperative.” It is a wrong done to God, which he must needs resent, when the leisurely joy of worship is denied him. What an affliction to any people to be too hard worked to render God this service. The Pharaohs who impose such an affliction cannot complain if the wronged Jehovah call them very sternly to account. 3 Let us go] The cohortative mood: almost=“We must needs go” (comp. Ewald Gr. § 228); but here blended with the particle of entreaty nâ, “pray:” “We must needs go—pray let us!” The joyful, leisurely worship which God demands is needful for us as well as due to Him.
Exodus 5:5. Now are many] The connection between this fact, and the easing of the people’s burdens is not at first sight apparent; but, on reflection, becomes clear. From Exodus 1:11 we learn that the building-tasks exacted of the Hebrews were demanded under the idea of tribute; for the words there rendered “task masters” (cf. below, on Exodus 5:6) namely sâ-rey miççim mean, “princes of tribute” Now it is evident that a given sum-total of tributary building would gradually become a lighter burden as the Hebrews multiplied. Hence the meaning of Pharaoh in this place seems to be: “The work has not been increased in proportion to the increase of the people: permitting this, you have allowed them to find case by the mere fact of multiplying.” It may not have been convenient or desirable to begin building more cities: so Pharaoh would have the labour of finishing those in hand most vexatiously augmented. By the way, we thus get a glimpse of the process by which the sons of Israel were enslaved. Their yoke was imposed under the specious name of “tribute:” this tribute was imperiously exacted: then the payment was made gallingly bard to render. The enslavement was complete.
Exodus 5:6. Taskmasters] A good rendering of the Hebrew uô-ghesim, which literally means “exactors,” and is. in Job 39:7, used of the “drivers” of asses. The Sept. rendering of this word is exceedingly expressive: ergodiôktai (ἐργοδιώκται), “work-pursuers,” “work-persecutors.” These “taskmasters” seem to be the same as the “princes of tribute” mentioned Exodus 1:11 (comp. previous note), and manifestly were Egyptians acting under Pharaoh and looking but too well (Exodus 5:14) after his interests. Officers] These were evidently Hebrews (Exodus 5:14-20) who were set over their brethren, and were held responsible for the performance of the required work. Theirs was indeed an unenviable position: they had to wring Pharaoh’s demands out of their own kinsmen, or be beaten themselves.
MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.— Exodus 5:1-9
THE FIRST ATTEMPT AT RELIGIOUS SERVICE
What a long time it takes to get men fairly into any work that is required of them. This is true in the secular sphere of daily life. Men put off till tomorrow what ought to be done to-day. Especially is this the case in reference to the duties that pertain to our moral life; there is much delay before men are willing or ready to undertake them.1 It is now some time since the first indication had been given to Moses that it was the Divine will that he should achieve the freedom of Israel. Yet he has been objecting to the service, reasoning with God, wishing to be liberated from it, and in fact, only now, when he finds escape impossible, is he about to commence it. Men little suspect the time they waste, the energies they weaken, and the unnecessary difficulties they occasion, by such unbelief and delay. Every day we neglect the mission it becomes harder to accomplish. We honour God by speeding immediately upon His errands. They are important, and may be endangered by delay.2 Israel is suffering the hardships of a cruel bondage all the time we are reasoning and objecting to free them, and therefore a tardy obedience is cruel and unwarrantable. The woe and sorrow of the world demands that Christian workers should be immediately brave and active. It is all very well to linger for few moments by the bush, burning but unconsumed, to get a vision of heaven, and to hold communion with God, that the soul may be refreshed and strengthened for the arduous work before it, but the act of worship must soon and naturally break into the act of service, or we shall be guilty of unnecessary delay. In obedient work men hold communion with God quite as truly as when standing near the burning bush. We have here illustrated the first attempt made at religious service.
Exodus 5:1. That this first attempt at religious service was made responsive to the call, and in harmony with the will, of God. “And afterward Moses and Aaron went in, and told Pharaoh, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, let my people go, that they may hold a feast unto me in the wilderness.”
1. Thus there was a great necessity that the work now attempted by Moses and Aaron should be accomplished. It would be almost impossible to realize the condition of Israel at this time. They had been the slaves of a tyrant king, many of them from their birth. They were ignorant. They were heavily worked. They knew not the glad meaning of freedom, nor did their slavery accomplish any worthy political end; it had been achieved by deception, and was marked by severe oppression. Here then was a grand sphere for a brave and heroic man. It is a sphere greatly needing his attention, worthy of his deepest sympathy, and it will require his most potent effort. Hence we see that Moses and Aaron were not seeking to remove a fancied evil, with which a few people were afflicted, but a wide-spread and long-continued woe, which rendered sad the life of a vast nation. Some men seek to remove imaginary evils and fail, and with their failure society at large has little sympathy. They are objects of merriment rather than of serious thought. We shall expect then of these two men entering upon a work so eminently needed, that they will in all probability succeed. It is a source of great strength to a Christian worker to have the consciousness that he is attempting a work that really needs doing. There are hundreds of good men animated by this conviction to-day, and we all know that in the great world round us, there are many enterprises requiring their effort. Humanity is in a condition of servitude, of moral servitude far more dreadful and despicable than that of ancient Israel.3 It is in need of moral emancipation. Are there not many of us willing to make our first effort in such a cause? That wicked alley is without a tract distributor, will you not offer to take it? That class in the Sunday-school is without a teacher, will you not endeavour to instruct it? That pulpit is without a minister, will you not make an effort to deliver the Gospel from it? That heathen town wants a missionary, will you not leave your home to take it the freedom of the cross? The work is a necessity, will you not make an attempt at it? You can go to the tyrant Sin, and demand the freedom of his slaves. This is a work that the world needs doing, and at once. It is rendered imperative by the passion of men, by the pain of society, by the obligations of the cross, and by the distinct call to Christian service.
2. Moses and Aaron were the right men to undertake this work. In the first place, Moses had been directly called by God to do it; also Aaron had been providentially conducted to this sphere of work. In this we see the different methods by which God enjoins work upon good men. He sometimes speaks directly to the soul in such a manner as cannot be mistaken; at other times, He quietly opens up our way to duty, and unexpectedly we find ourselves in the presence of work demanding our immediate attention. I believe in a special call to, and preparation for, Christian Work. Unless a man has heard the voice of God, unless he has beheld the vision of the burning bush, unless his soul has held communion with heaven, unless he has learned to speak the deep name of Jehovah, he has no right to go on the errand of Israel’s emancipation. He cannot teach to others the meaning of a name he does not understand himself. He cannot reflect the light of a vision he has never seen. A call from God is an absolute necessity of Christian service. We are getting too lax in this matter. We fear that the Church is sending men on errands of freedom whom God has not commissioned. We cannot expect them to succeed. Then, think of the moral preparation that Moses and Aaron had received for this work in relation to Israel. We know right well the discipline through which Moses had passed up to this hour. It is written. The prior life of Aaron is unwritten. God does not always disclose the process by which his servants are prepared for their toil. They are prepared in different ways. Solitude prepares one man; publicity will prepare another; the preparation must be in harmony with the temperament of the man, and the work that he has to perform. The Church requires to think less of results, and more of the methods by which they are to be attained. Sometimes we see a great worker. He conquers every difficulty. He is always successful. We at once regard him as ideal. We laud his talent. We say that Christian toil is easy to him. We only view the result. Had we seen him years ago, we should have seen him curious at the bush, objecting to the service, asking that another may be sent in his place; then he was a feeble, trembling worker, but the Divine preparation and heavenly grace has, through long years, made him what he is. The call to Christian work is of God, and likewise all the qualifications for it.4 The reason why there is so much failure in the toil of good men is because they do not entirely submit themselves to the holy discipline which would qualify them for it. Christian workers seek to be prepared of God for your toil. Thus Moses and Aaron were well qualified for this work. And we have workers in the Church to-day almost equal to them; divinely cultured in soul they are making their first attempt at service. This very day they are standing before Pharaoh. They are seeking the freedom of the morally enslaved. May God prosper them in their mission.
3. Moses and Aaron undertook this work in the proper manner and spirit. There is a right way and a wrong in the performance of any kind of work; but especially when it is of a moral character; then the greatest results are dependent upon the utmost trivialities. It sometimes occurs that God gives a man a pattern of work, and shows him how to execute it. This was the case with Moses and Aaron. They were told to gather the elders of Israel together, and then to proceed to Pharaoh with the request of freedom. The Divine mind is capable of infinite suggestions to moral service, which are always helpful and welcome to the earnest worker, and which should be carefully wrought out. The direction of heaven is needful in the work of spiritual emancipation. There are so many methods to be considered, so many interests to be regarded, so many emergencies to be expected, so much impulse required, and so many difficulties to be encountered, that only God can render us any aid in such a work. But often the gentle methods of service are the most effective, and we want to obtain the sublime and happy art of Christian work, to win men into acquiescence with the Divine will by a word of love, almost unconsciously to themselves. We should strive to present the message of God to them in such a voice and manner as shall the most entice their attention and obedience. Many a good enterprise has been ruined by the lack of a little loving and considerate art, which would have rendered, it successful. But there are times when Christian art is of little use, as in the case now under review; Pharaoh will not yield his profitable slaves to the courteous request of two strangers. Hence Moses and Aaron are bold and determined in their request for the freedom of Israel they plainly make known the word of God in reference thereto.5 So, when we have to attack time-honoured custom, unholy vested interests, and to deal with men who are deaf to all the righteous claims of God, the only method of service is to say, “Thus said the God of Israel, let my people go.” Thus we should imagine that the work attempted being greatly needed, of divine appointment and preparation, it will be almost certain of success. But how disappointing is the sequel.
II. That our first attempt at religious service is often met by open profanity and ignorance. “And Pharaoh said, who is the Lord that I should obey his voice to let Israel go? I know not the Lord, neither will I let Israel go.”
1. Moses and Aaron were met by a manifestation of ignorance. Pharaoh seems to know nothing about the God of Israel; or, if he was aware of His existence, to hold Him in very inferior esteem. Perhaps he thought that Jehovah was unable to aid the people in their bondage, or He would have done so long before. And so it often happens, when Christian workers commence their toil, that they are met by wilful and lamentable ignorance,—ignorance of the very first principles of religion, by a rejection of moral restraint, of the claims of God and humanity. Such a dark condition of mind is very difficult to contend with, and is a great hindrance to philanthropic toil. Only a Monarch ignorant of God would permit slavery within his realm. Where there is the most religion there will be the truest freedom. But the sequel of the history will show that Pharaoh could not much longer remain ignorant of Jehovah, and that he had reason to tremble before His power.
2. That Moses and Aaron were met by deep profanity. It would seem that Pharaoh had very loose notions about gods; he thought no doubt that one was as good as another. His own country abounded with them. And he had not much regard for those whom he had been brought up from childhood to fear rather than to respect. Besides, he had got to regard himself of as much importance as they were. In short, he was a god unto himself, and wished to be unto his people. He was not therefore prepared to show any consideration for the claim of a Deity of whom he was comparatively ignorant. Yet he must have known something of Jehovah, he would gather indications of his power and supremacy from the enslaved Israelites and their national records. It is great profanity for a man to slight the faintest indication of the Supreme Ruler of the universe, even though he be comparatively ignorant of his true existence. After hearing the request of Moses and Aaron, Pharaoh ought to have thoughtfully and seriously enquired into the matter, and a moment’s serious reflection would have shown him that he was putting himself in antagonism to the God of the despised Israelites. But, instead of this, he becomes insolent, opposes his authority to that of the most High, and refuses the request of the emancipators of Israel.6 So there are people in these days who have very loose conceptions about the deity, they are comparatively ignorant of Him, they treat His claims with contempt, they regard His servants with scorn, they imagine that they are free from His dominion, and with this profanity Christian workers are frequently called to contend.
3. That Moses and Aaron were met by unwarrantable pride. Pharaoh speaks in the second verse as though he were the supreme monarch of the world, as though there were none to rival his grandeur, or to defeat his power. And thus his pride led him to an unwarrantable defiance of Jehovah. It exposed him to imminent peril, for in a moment the Divine Being could have crushed him as a moth in his hand; so lamentable is the pride of man. And yet this ancient king of Egypt is but a type of many to-day, whose pride, the outcome of ignorance, brings them into open hostility to the will of God, and renders them antagonistic to His servants. Frequently are Christian workers met by manifestations of pride which they find very difficult to conquer. Thus the fact that we are sent by God to our first effort of Christian service, that we are prepared for it by the heavenly discipline of years, and that it is a work greatly required at our hands, does not remove from before us all the difficulties of the case. We have as thoroughly to contend with the ignorance, profanity, and pride of men as though we had never received our commission at the hand of God. It is not the economy of heaven to remove all obstacles out of the way of Christian service, else there would be but little for man to do in the way of sacred toil.
III. That our first attempt at service is often misunderstood, and its motive maligned. “And the King of Egypt said unto them, wherefore do ye, Moses and Aaron, let the people from their works? Get you unto your burdens.”
1. Pharaoh was not sensitive to the claims of duty. He was a king, and had learned through a long series of years, by continued practice, to despise the claims of others, nor would he make an exception in the case of Jehovah. He was hardened in heart. He was darkened in mind. He was surrounded by all that could flatter his vanity, or aid him in the event of conflict: hence he was not much troubled by the moral questions of life. He would be far more perplexed by the invasion of a foreign king than by any command from God. And so Christian workers have to appeal to men who are almost destitute of religious feeling and sensibility, to convey to them the stern messages of God. We cannot wonder then that they are so often misunderstood and rejected. Pride always renders men insensible to the claims of duty.
2. Pharaoh was not a disinterested interpreter of the claims urged upon him. Moses and Aaron demanded that the tyrant monarch should announce freedom to all his slaves. But these slaves were of great service and profit to him and his nation: hence Pharaoh could not put a disinterested interpretation upon the demand thus made upon him. And so it is now, Christian workers have frequently to undertake work, and to enunciate requirements which are opposed to the secular interests of men. Can they wonder if these requirements should be rejected, and their motives misrepresented? It is difficult to get a man to do the will of God when it is in apparent antagonism to the interests of his trade or profession. Thus Christian workers can generally explain the opposition to which they are subject; they know that it arises from the enmity of the carnal mind, and from the dictation of self interest, rather than from any rejection of them personally. This misrepresentation may give rise to persecution and slander, but from this God will ultimately deliver those who toil for Him. Their aspersed character will be cleared. Their safety He will ensure, or the service of earth shall break into that of heaven.
IV. That sometimes our first attempt at religious service appears to be more productive of harm than good, and to have the very opposite effect to that designed. “And Pharaoh commanded the same day the taskmasters of the people, and their officers, saying, Ye shall no more give the people straw to make brick, as heretofore: let them go and gather straw for themselves,” &c. Thus it would appear that Moses and Aaron instead of accomplishing the freedom of Israel, rather increased the pain of their slavery. But we know not by what methods God will accomplish His will, and even this intolerant conduct of the king may be part of the discipline which shall occasion his defeat. How many Christian workers have been in like circumstances to these, apparently having done those whom they sought to benefit more harm than good. And this has been a cause of great regret and discouragement to them. We would urge such not to be discouraged by appa. rent failures, for after all, these may contain the germs of future success. LESSONS:—
1. Begin at once some enterprise for the moral freedom of humanity.7
2. If in the first attempt at service you meet with difficulty and rejection, do not be dismayed.
3. That you must be finally successful in your efforts:—
(1.) For they are appointed by God.
(2.) You are upheld by heaven.
(3.) You have the sympathy of all good men.
Exodus 5:1. That Christian Workers should go boldly to their duty. “And afterwards Moses and Aaron went in and told Pharaoh.” These two men had been set about their God-given work; they do not hesitate; there is no manifestation of timidity; they stand before the King of Egypt as equal to him, and as equal to their duty in every respect. So Christian workers should go to their work in a bold spirit, as supported by the Supreme Power.8 They have no need to tremble in the presence of any difficulty. The Lord is their Helper.
II. That Christian Workers should present the direct claims of god to men. “Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Let my people go.” We must never go to moral service in our own name, nor must we use our own authority. All our messages and demands must be presented under the authority of God, and only His words are we warranted in uttering. Never leave out the “Thus saith the Lord” in your effort of service.9
III. That Christian Workers should aim, in harmony with the will of God, to bring the enslaved to a grand moral festival of freedom. “That they may hold a feast unto me in the wilderness.”10 All service should have reference to moral festivities; (to times of gladness and hope the world is called.) But the festival which is the accompaniment of the freedom wrought by God is characterised by devotion.
Why did God send Moses and Aaron to Pharaoh, when He could have destroyed him with a stroke, and have wrought the freedom of Israel:—
1. That God’s power might appear in shewing his wonders.
2. That the Israelites might see the great care God had over them.
3. To exercise their patience, not being delivered at once.
4. To leave Pharaoh without excuse. God’s ambassadors must proceed orderly in delivering their message—first to Israel, secondly to Pharaoh.
Order of persons as well as time is observable by God’s servants.
The poorest persons under God’s authority may come into the presence of the proudest king.
God’s ambassadors must declare His will to the greatest potentates.
God’s messengers must go in His authority, and vouch His name.
A proclamation of God:—
1. His name.
2. His authority.
3. His regard for His people.
4. His desire for the freedom of man.
The freedom of men:—Earnestly desired.
2. Effectively undertaken.
3. Divinely approved.
4. Successfully achieved.
The end of all redemption is that God’s people should serve him.
The true service of God is a festival of joy.
It is better to serve God in the wilderness than Pharaoh in Egypt.
Exodus 5:2. “Who is the Lord that I should obey His voice?”
I. Who is the Lord?
1. Thy Creator.
2. Thy Benefactor.
3. Thy Redeemer.
4. Thy Governor.
II. How may we bear His voice?
(11)
1. In the works of nature.
2. In the dispensations of Providence.
3. In our spiritual perceptions.
4. In the Bible.
[Pulpit Analyst.]
PHARAOH’S IMPIOUS INTERROGATION
The text is the language of the Pagan and impious Pharaoh. A person whose history and character are fully presented to us in the Divine Word.
I. God has spoken to mankind.
1. He has graciously spoken by His works. “The heavens declare, &c., Romans 1:20. Here the existence, majesty, power, and wisdom are all declared.
2. He has spoken continually by His good providence. The admirable provision made for all creatures, &c Hear Paul’s address to the inhabitants of Lystra: Acts 14:15; Acts 14:17.
3. He hath spoken awfully by His judgments. How terrible His voice to the antediluvians—Pharaoh. By war—by pestilence by famine—by earthquakes.
4. He hath spoken distinctly in His word.
By the ancient prophets—by His own Son. Hear the Apostle: Hebrews 1:1. The Saviour also instituted the Christian Ministry, to convey the words of God to all the world.
II. Why and how you should hear.
1. Why you should hear His voice. Because of His right in and over you. He is your God, Creator, Lawgiver. Because of his condescension to you. It is infinite condescension on the part of Deity to stoop and speak to you. How angels hearken. Because of the design of His speaking, which is your present and eternal welfare.
2. How we should hear His voice. With awe, sacred attention, with holy anxiety to understand and obey it.
III. The impiety and folly of refusing to hear the voice of God. But who are guilty of it? The sceptic, sensualist, worlding, sinner. Pride of heart leads to it.
1. It is flagrant contempt of God.
2. It is open rebellion against the authority.
3. It must be eventually ruinous to the sinner.
[Sketches of Sermons, by Dr. Burns.]
Proud imperious spirits are hasty to reply roughly to God’s messengers.
Idolators are apt to despise God in the true revelation of Him.
Hardened souls vent their contempt upon God Himself more than on His Church.
Contempt of Jehovah will not suffer men to hear His voice.
Disobedience to God ushers in oppression to His people.
Scorners of God:—
1. They hear not His voice.
2. They perceive not His Revelation
3. They recognize not His claims.
4. They insult His servants.
5. They enslave His people.
6. They are obstinate in their denial.
THE REASONINGS OF AN ENSLAVED SOUL WITH ITS TYRANT OPPRESSOR
Exodus 5:3. There are times when men deeply feel the pain and degradation of their slavery; they are awakened, by the messengers of God, to a desire for freedom, when they utter their sentiments in the language of this verse:—
I. They urge the Divine uprising on their behalf. “The God of the Hebrews hath met with us.” God had awakened within Israel the desire and hope of freedom, had urged them to achieve it, and had promised to aid them in so doing. Pharaoh little knew the events that had happened prior to this visit; he was ignorant of the revelation which had been given to Moses and Aaron; but so it is, imperious sinners walk to their doom, ignorant of the agencies that would achieve their ruin. There is another history than that which is seen by the world at large; it is behind in the shade, only known to the favoured servants of God. The meeting of God with his people is an argument for freedom, and should be recognised as such by the proudest monarchs of earth.
II. They urge their own desire for freedom. “Let us go, we pray thee.” Probably many will not consider this could have been a very great argument with Pharaoh for the freedom of Israel; but it ought to have been. A desire for freedom, on the part of those who are destitute of it, should be a strong plea for its bestowal with all who have it in their power to snap the fetters of the slave. Heaven always respects our wish for freedom.12 True kinghood always will.
III. They urge their desire for solitude. “Three days’ journey into the desert.” They had been so long in the crowded cities of the Egyptians, so painful and sad had their condition become, that they longed for the solitude of the desert to refresh their souls, that they might drink in new life and hope.
IV. They urge their desire for devotion. “And sacrifice unto the Lord our God.” Their better manhood had returned to these Israelites. Their old feelings of worship are awakened. They have struggled through their pain and slavery, to God. They wish to worship him. This is a strong argument for liberty.
V. They urge their fear of pestilence. “Lest he fall upon us with pestilence or with the sword.” Slavery in any nation is more productive of calamity and retribution than almost any other sin. That country will, in all probability, be the most exempt from pestilence and war which is the most free. There is a healing influence in liberty; hence this is an argument for it.
Just mark the contrast between the Egyptian king, and the Hebrew or Christian messengers. Being threatened, they threatened not; reviled, they reviled not again. They took meekly his remarks; they entreated, but threatened not; for they said immediately, “The Lord God of the Hebrews,” etc.; speaking calmly, as if not one insulting expression had been used. Now here is a precedent for us. If Pharaoh forgot his place, Moses and Aaron were not to forget theirs. [Dr. Cumming.]
God’s ambassadors must not forsake His message upon man’s denial.
Further arguments must urge the message of God, when its mere proposal is not enough.
The God of the Hebrews must be owned by them, though despised by Pharaoh.
Although God commands powers, yet it is fit that his people should entreat them.
To sacrifice to God and to feast with Him are synonymous.
Pestilence and sword are God’s judgments, exacting the neglect of His service.
These plagues are incident on all that neglect God, but much more on them that forbid others to serve Him.
The fear of these judgments should awe souls from slighting His message to them.
Exodus 5:4. Good men are often wrongly judged:—
1. In respect to their motives.
2. Actions.
3. Writings.
Persecuting powers return rough answers to humble petitions.
Oppressing kings make nothing of despising, checking, and menacing God’s messengers.
Wicked powers censure the motions for God’s service to be detractions from their work.
Oppressing rulers are angry with men who move souls to serve God.
Cruel masters drive God’s people from serving Him to bear their burdens.
RELIGION NO EXCUSE FOR THE NEGLECT OR DAILY WORK
There is much daily work carried on that is both against the law of God and man; this, religion will suspend, and, instead, will give a man work to do, the performance of which will be in harmony with conscience, and beneficial to the commonwealth.14 True religion is no friend to indolence. Religion is no excuse for the neglect of daily work:—
I. Because it commands men to provide things honest in the sight of all men. It gives a man an employment to fulfil, in one station or another, in lowly social grade, or otherwise. It makes men willing to earn their daily bread, to answer the purposes of labour, and to enhance the general welfare of the nation. If men are idle in their daily avocation, it is from the lack of religion, not from the possession of it. True piety consists as much in pursuing our daily toil as in attendance upon the services of the sanctuary. We should render both as a service to God. We must be diligent in business.
II. Because it provides men with forceful motives to work. True religion brings forceful motives to bear upon the souls of those Who are animated by it. It animates men to do their work from love to an unseen God, from faith in an unseen Saviour, and from fear of a coming judgment and eternity. Hence the motives of religion are calculated to make men earnest workers. “Whatsoever thy hand findeth,” &c.
III. Because it enlarges man’s sphere of work. Besides working in the world for daily bread, it opens up to him an enlarged and holy sphere of toil in the church, for the moral welfare of men. Nor will the duties of the one interfere with those of the other; both will admit of careful attention. St Paul wrought at tent making, and also had the care of the churches upon him.
Exodus 5:5. From the multiplied numbers of the church, tyrants expect multiplied labours.
It is the envy of persecutors to see God’s servants have rest from burdens.
It is incident to wicked powers to suggest, that God’s ministers move His people to idleness and sedition.
Exodus 5:6-7. God’s commands, and the interests of his people, are bitterly opposed by wicked powers.
Persecuting powers delay not to vent their malice against God and his people.
Wicked rulers have their agencies by whom they afflict the people of God.
Cruel powers stay the hands of ministers from doing justice to such as they will oppress.
It is savage cruelty to deny means, and expect work and advantage.
Former justice is forgotten where future oppression is intended.
Wicked powers will lose no gain, though they allow poor souls nothing to get it with.
They used straw in making brick.—
1. To temper the clay, that it might be firmer.
2. There was a great use for brick in Egypt, not only because they wanted stone, but because the buildings made of brick were durable.
In the pyramid of Fayoun there are found bricks which have been hardened in the sun, containing short particles of chopped straw mixed with the clay, their just idea being that straw would give cohesion to the mass, the brick not being submitted to the action of fire, but only to the heat of the sun. Whilst these bricks would not be suitable for our buildings, you can see their appropriateness in Egypt, where there is no rain. In a dry and sunny clime the bricks would last or thousands of years, whereas in our climate they would be of no use.
Exodus 5:8-9. The world and Satan opposed to the Christian’s Spiritual Progress. “If thou come to serve the Lord,” saith the wisdom of the Son of Sirach, “prepare thy soul for temptation. This caution too often neglected. Young converts imagine that the victory over Satan will be won at once, by the first blow. The children of Israel had sighed by reason of their bondage. The Lord heard their groaning. Sent Moses and Aaron to the Elders, The people believed. Did the chains of their bondage then fall off at once? Far otherwise. They were now in the way from slavery, towards the liberty for which they panted: but toil, privation, and affliction lay before them in long succession, ere they could sit down every man under his own vine, and every man under his own fig tree, within the consecrated borders of Canaan. Have you listened to the gracious pleading of the Spirit of God, in sincere anxiety for a complete and eternal deliverance? You will meet with hindrances, one of the first will arise from those who make a mock at sin, who deride the privileges and duties of pure and undefiled religion
(15) Such a rock of offence is represented by Pharaoh in this chapter, where we find emblematically pourtrayed:—
I. The prejudice of the careless and worldly against sincere and vital Godliness.
1. It is regarded as the dream and vision of a heated and enthusiastic imagination. When the wonders of redemption first break in upon the mind, when the inquirer first beholds the Son of God dying for him, he is ready to exclaim, “Whom have I in heaven but thee!” Are these feelings visionary; or have they been enkindled within his heart by the Spirit of God?
2. It is regarded as inconsistent with a proper attention to the duties of active life. I grant it possible that the eye of a Christian’s soul, first open to behold the glories of the Gospel, may be dazzled with their transcendent brightness, and become indifferent to objects of an importance merely temporal; as the natural eye, which has gazed for a moment upon the sun, sees nothing but dimness in the things of earth: but such an exclusive view of eternal things is of rare occurrence.
II. Another temptation which Satan employs to oppose an entire devotion of the heart to God, is by exaggerating the importance of worldly pursuits. “Let there be more work laid upon the men.” What shall it profit a man if he shall gain the whole world, if he shall love his own soul! A double caution may be deduced:—
1. To those who would hinder the spiritual freedom of others whom they may control or influence; as Pharaoh would have impeded the political deliverance of Israel. You must settle from Scripture and prayer whether the resolutions and desires you oppose arise from the inspiration of God, or the imagination of men. Woe to him that striveth with his Maker.
2. You who are thus hindered, remember that Scripture addresses you with a cautionary voice. Be not slothful in business.
[Buddicom’s Christian Exodus.]
ILLUSTRATIONS
BY THE
REV. WM. ADAMSON
(1)—Ready!—A gentleman’s dog having gallantly rescued a drowning child, the spectators were eager to know the name of his master, in order to publish it. The owner at once exclaimed, “Never mind my name; but that of the dog is ‘Ready!’ ” Ready! aye, ready! Such was the response of the brave officer to his anxious commander’s enquiry whether he was prepared for the fight. We ought to be ready for every good work.
“If it were done when ’tis done, then ’twere well
It were done quickly.”
—Shakespeare.
(2)—Delay!—Every day we neglect the mission it becomes harder to accomplish both as regards ourselves and it. We are less and less disposed towards it. It is more and more inveterate. As with travellers on the Alpine heights overtaken by the pitiless snowstorm at different stages of the mountain ascent, numbness is creeping over one, and the longer the other delays to help his friend by rubbing his limbs, the more profound becomes the torpor of both. Instant action will save both. Activity will give them both a glow.
“There is a firefly in the southern clime,
Which shineth only when upon the wing.”
Motion is developing beat. Magoon says that it is good policy to strike while the iron is hot; but it is still better to adopt Cromwell’s procedure, and to make the iron hot in striking. As one has said, Be active and expect Christ to be with you; be idle and the thorns and briars will grow so quickly that He will be shut out. Delaying to obey the call, the ice forms upon our feelings—gradually freezes to greater thickness, until total indifference results. Delaying to obey the call, the slave’s condition becomes more wretched, the drowning man sinks the deeper, the enfevered patient is entangled more pitiably in the meshes of delirium. The motto of each servant of God must be that of the indomitable mind of Edmund Burke in his address to his constituents at Bristol: For God’s sake, let us pass on. There is no time to be lost.
“Wake ere the earth-born charm unnerve thee quite,
And be thy thoughts to work divine address’d:
Do something—do it soon—with all thy might—
An angel’s wing would droop if long at rest.”
—Wilcox.
(3)—Humanity!—The whole world lieth in bondage; and no man in his senses will venture to assert that man is today just as man originally way. Even Moncure Conway, who dethrones Jehovah and enthrones his own deification (or definition) of Reason, is perforce ready to acknowledge that man is a dismantled fane—a broken shrine, with some gleam of departed glory about him sufficient to give an idea of what he once was, and with (he says) some germs of the original perfection which may be cultivated and developed. It is not now a question how this came about, or why it was allowed to happen. We have the fact that the whole world is in servitude to the wicked one—that from time to time Jehovah has raised up deliverers, either prospective or retrospective of the one great Deliverer, Christ, who was to appear.
“He came the prisoners to release
In Satan’s bondage held,”
and now calls upon every man to be the deliverer of his fellow-man. Had Moses refused to obey the call in the spirit of Cain, he would have met with Cain’s doom, viz., loss of the Divine approbation.
(4)—Qualifications!—Bishop Wilson wrote that the great secret of the ministry consisted in three things:
1. Christ:
2. Immortal souls: and
3. Self-humiliation. But self-humiliation springs from discipline—that three-fold discipline of which Luther stoke when he declared that the three requisites or qualifications to do God’s works were prayer, meditation, and temptation. All these Moses had abundance of for years—are, more than forty long years. God instructs and qualifies as well as calls; for (says Bishop Reynolds) if no prince will send a mechanic from his loom in an honourable embassage to some other foreign prince, is it likely that Jehovah will send forth unqualified instruments about so great a work as the perfecting of the saints?—
“For well he knows, not learning’s purest tides
Can quench the immortal thirst that in the soul abides.”
—Little.
(5)—Decision!—Even a foolish man may utter a wise sentiment, as Colton did, when he said that men ought to deliberate with caution, but act with decision. Hood calls attention to the decided man. He may be a most evil man, a grasping, avaricious, unprincipled man; still look how the difficulties of life know the strong man, and give up the contest with him. He walks by the light of his own judgment; he has made up his mind, and having done so, henceforth action—action is before him. He cannot bear to sit amidst unrealized expectations. To him speculation is only valuable that it may be resolved into living and doing. There is no difference, no delay. To this Jehovah had to bring Moses, so that, his spirit was in arms, all in earnest. As Pompey, when hazarding his life on a tempestuous sea in order to be at Rome on an important occasion, said that it was necessary for him to go, not for him to live. Thus Cæsar, when he crossed the English Channel, burnt his shipson the Anglican shores, that there might be no return. And so Cortes decided to break up the ships which had brought his soldiers to Mexico from Spain. This daring act had the effect of bracing his men, says Trench, to a pitch of resolution all but supernatural.
(6)—Pharaoh versus God!—This imperious monarch had never been accustomed to be thwarted. Men who have always thrust obstacles aside come to think their power invincible, and to make them a battering ram against fate and circumstances. When Jehovah came down to oppose Pharaoh in his despotic behaviour towards Israel, he tried to wrestle with Him, and paid dearly for his folly. A bantam may crow in the face of a fighting-cock once too often; and woe to the frail boat that rashly contends with the powerful tail of the whale. As one says, God never wrestles with a man without throwing him: so that we might apply Pollok’s description of the atheist to Pharaoh—
“The unbeliever
Despising reason, revelation, God,
And, kicking ’gainst the pricks of conscience, rush’d
Deliriously upon the bossy shield
Of the Omnipotent.”
(7)—Moral Freedom!—Behind the physical and national freedom of Israel was their moral and spiritual disenthralment. The hidden is offtimes most important. It was so here Moral freedom is everything. All sinners are represented as being in bondage, bound with the chain of their sins, servants of him whom they obey, led captive by the devil at his will. He is the great Pharaoh—that old dragon, the serpent. He gilds the yoke, and you are not conscious that you wear it; but there are times when you feel its fretting notwithstanding. That giant passion masters you. But a Deliverer has come to the shores of our world—proclaiming liberty to the captive and freedom to those who are fast bound in the misery and iron of sin-thraldom. From the strongest and most frowning fortress, in which tyranny can bind its captives, this Saviour can deliver. He will deliver: for if the Son make you free, you shall be free indeed.—And
“A day—an hour of virtuous liberty
Is worth a whole eternity of bondage.”
It is Dr. Caird who asserts that no language—no emblems can be found to convey any adequate idea of the sesseoness of such a deliverance. Not the poor timid struggling bird springs forth from the snare with a note of more thrilling joyfulness—not the despairing heartsick captive casts the first look of freedom on the bright heaven, or treads with bounding steps the greensward of home with a more exulting throb of happiness. And never was that ancient song of deliverance sung with a deeper meaning than when the soul, morally freed from the galling tyranny and oppressive yoke of Satan, exclaims: Our soul is escaped as a bird out of the snare of the fowler—
“’Tis liberty alone that gives the flowers
Of fleeting life their lustre and perfume,
And we are weeds without it.”
—Cowper.
(8)—Fearless!—Moses had a duty to discharge, and no dangers must deter him. When God sends men on a work for Him, He virtually undertakes the responsibility of “breakers ahead.” His ministers and deliverers must not look askance and hesitate in the fulfilment of their labours because they see “a bombshell” coming. It is related of Charles the Twelfth of Sweden that—whilst besieged in Stralsund he was one day dictating a letter to his secretary, when a bomb from the enemy’s outworks fell through the roof of the house where they were. The report of the shell alarmed the secretary so much, that the pen fell from his hand; whereupon the king enquired what was the matter. The trembling secretary could only ejaculate: “The bombshell.” The monarch’s stern response was: “What has the bomb to do with the letter? Go on with your writing.” So what had Moses to do with Pharaoh’s wrath? It was for him to go on with the work of deliverance which God had authorized, and as he had been pleased to appoint. Then
“Work, though the enemies’ laughter
Over the valleys may sweep,
For God’s patient workers hereafter
Shall laugh when their enemies weep.”
(9)—Divine Authority!—Canon Ryle mentions an incident in the life of Whitefield, which illustrates the authority. When preaching on one occasion, an old man fell asleep and some of the audience became listless. Suddenly changing his manner, Whitefield broke forth in an altered tone—declaring that be had not come to speak in his own name, otherwise they might lean on their elbows and go to sleep. “No; I have come to you in the name of the Lord of Hosts, and I must, and will be heard.” The sleeper started wide awake—the hearers were stripped of their apathy at once—and every word of the sermon was attended to. It was thus that Moses addressed Pharaoh. It was thus all witnesses for God should address the listeners, with authority:
“By Him inspired, they speak with urgent tongue
Authoritative, whilst the illumined breast
Heaves with unwonted strength.”
—Jenner.
(10)—Freedom’s Sweets!—The Christian deliverer is all the more active and energetic in his work, because he was once himself a slave. A traveller stood one day beside the cages of some birds which, exposed for sale, ruffled their sunny plumage on the wires, and struggled to be free. Sadly he gazed on these captives till tears stood in his eyes; and turning round to their owner, he asked the price of one. As soon as the money was handed over, he opened the door and set the prisoner free. This he did with captive after captive, till every bird was away, soaring to the sky, arising on the wings of liberty. The crowd stated and stood amazed; but his remark soon cleared up their difficulty: “I was myself once a captive, and know the sweets of liberty.”—Liberty! What heart is there that does not feel its pulse quicken at the sound? All instincts teat in unison here. Even the dullest, we are told, kindle into rapture, and the most craven for freedom’s sake would strike the unwilling blow—
“Ah! There lives not a victim of pride and power
But hopes in the future to win release;
But dreams of some bright and golden hour,
When the reign of oppression and wrong shall cease.
Not a toiler who plods neath a burden of care,
But dreams of relief and liberty there.”
—Dewart.
(11)—Voice of God!—There are many ways in which God causes us to hear His voice! and the first of all His voices is that of His works. Eliza Cook has In glowing terms written—
“God has a voice that ever is heard
In the peal of the thunder, the chirp of the bird;
It comes in the torrent all rapid and strong,
In the streamlet’s soft gush as it ripples along;
Let the hurricane whistle, or warblers rejoice,
What so they tell thee but ‘God hath a voice.’ ”
How many have heard Him calling in His Providence, amid the sunshine of prosperity and the shadows of sorrow—amid the chimings of the marriage bells and the solemn toll of the funeral knell. But His sweetest voice is that of His Evangel. Pharaoh had heard the Divine voices of nature and Providence, but, like Samuel, he did not understand them. Now he hears the “Evangelic” voice, and, like the deaf adder, stops his ears. Yet no voice sounds sweeter. As Dr. Hamilton says, on the gospel tree there grow melodious blossoms—sweeter bells than those which mingled with the pomegranates on Aaron’s vest. The idea is borrowed from Oriental poetry, which tells of a wondrous tree on which grew golden apples and silver bells. Every time the breeze went by and tossed the fragrant branches, a shower of those yellow globes fell, and the living bells chimed and tinkled forth their airy ravishment. When Moses spoke to Pharaoh the bells rang unheeded in the monarch’s ears; so the golden fruit of joy and peace fell among the brick-kilns of Egypt for Israel’s nurture.
(12)—Liberty a Divine Right!—Dr. Webster tells a story which admirably illustrates this axiom. In times past, a slave, starting in the darkness and stillness of the midnight hour, and taking the north-star for his guide, toiled on his weary way, resting by day and travelling by night until he reached Vermont. He was pursued by his alleged owner, and seized with the intention of returning him to slavery. The case was brought before Judge Harrington; and the slave-owner, in proof of his claim, called the attention of the judge to a bill of sale. It was returned with an intimation that it was not satisfactory evidence of the sale and purchase; whereupon the indignant slave-owner asked what would be sufficient proof. The judge at once replied that a bill of sale from GOD ALMIGHTY would alone satisfy him. Such God will never give; for freedom is His life—
“Oh, freedom! terribly thou springest forth,
As springs the flame above a burning pile;
And showest to the nations, who return
Thy shoutings, while the pale oppressor flies.”
(13)—Wisdom!—Nearly every opinion and advice may be stated in a gentle or in an offensive way. An Oriental prince asked two interpreters to explain his dream. One said that he would lose all his relatives, and then himself die. The monarch ordered this prophet of evil to be beheaded. The other assured him that he would survive all his relations. The prince loaded this one with favours, though both interpretations were the same. Moses was gentle in his demand to Pharaoh: Let us go three days’ journey and sacrifice to our God—
“Speak gently! it is better far
To rule by love than fear,
Speak gently! let not harsh words mar
The good we might do here.”
—Bates.
(14)—Law of Work!—Work is necessity, says Exell. Work gives a feeling of strength, cries Müller. Work is triumph, as Richard Burke exclaimed shortly after an extraordinary display of powers in Parliament by his brother Edmund: “When we were at play, he was always at work. But work is also a law. There is such a thing as the Law of Work; and from the particle of dust at our feet to man—the last stroke of God’s great and sublime handiwork—all bear the impress of the law of labour. The earth is one vast laboratory, where de. composition and re-formation are constantly going on. As has been aptly added, the blast of nature’s furnace never ceases, and its fires never burn low. The lichen of the rock and the oak of the forest each works out the problem of its own existence. The earth, the air, the water, teem with busy life. Onward unceasingly—age after age—the world pursues its course; a perpetual lesson, with all it contains, of industry to man. Even the rolling spheres join the universal chorus of labour. Therefore
“Work though the world would defeat you;
Heed not its slander and scorn;
Nor weary till angels shall greet you
With smiles through the gates of the morn.”
—Punshon
(15) Christian Hindrances! The tyrant’s malice cannot suffer the saints to be in peace: hence the Saviour’s farewell monition that they must expect tribulation. The Biblical Treasury narrates the case of a soldier in the East Indies—a stout, lion-hearted man—once a noted prizefighter, and a terror to those who knew him. When freed from the bonds of his own passions and guilt the change in his character became most marked and decided. The lion was changed into a lamb, but the lamb had to submit to persecution. One of his comrades, stirred up by Satan, ridiculed him, and taking a basin of hot soup threw it into his bosom. Instead of springing like a tiger upon the insulting comrade he wiped his scalded breast and calmly said, “This is what I must expect as a Christian.” Every means will be employed—every effort and device made—every subtle snare enlisted to injure the soul and retard its spiritual enjoyment of Christian freedom—yet not without the Divine permission—as with Israel and Job. God allows the tyrant’s agents and emissaries to surround us with perils, beset us with troubles, and confront our footsteps with red-hot ploughshares as necessary discipline:—
“If from Thy ordeal’s heated bars
Our feet are Seamed with crimson scars, Thy will be done.”