We are still in Exodus chapter five with our word for today. רָעַע do or be evil or bad, treat badly, to cause great unhappiness for, distress. It is used 98 times in the Old Testament. We find our word used to describe the exact opposite of the goodness that God identifies himself with. Micah 3:4 Then they will cry out to the Lord, but he will not answer them. At that time he will hide his face from them because of the הֵרֵ֖עוּ evil they have done. Isaiah 9:17 Therefore the Lord does not rejoice over their young men, and has no compassion on their fatherless and widows; for everyone is godless and an וּמֵרַ֔ע evildoer, and every mouth speaks folly. God is good and evil is nowhere in his presence but people have accused God of wrong doing using our word for evil even though this is not possible. It is only their limited biased perspective. This is how our word is used in our chapter today. Exodus 5:22-23 Then Moses turned to the Lord and said, “O Lord, why have you done הֲרֵעֹ֙תָה֙ evil to this people? Why did you ever send me? For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has done הֵרַ֖ע evil to this people, and you have not delivered your people at all.” Moses is calling what Pharaoh is doing to him and the people evil and he is also calling God evil as well because he is allowing Pharaoh to do this to them. He also accuses God of not delivering the people as he said he would do. This is not the first time in the Bible that God is accused of not keeping his word. But here as well as every other time we find that this is simply not true. We tend to misunderstand what God is promising us because we only hear part of what God is saying. We tend to only pay attention to the parts we like and ignore the harder ones. God clearly told Moses a head of time that this would take time and be difficult. Exodus 3:19-20 But I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go unless a mighty hand compels him. So I will stretch out my hand and strike the Egyptians with all the wonders that I will perform among them. After that, he will let you go.
This reminds me of Jesus disciples who only wanted to hear happy part of what Jesus was saying not the dying and leaving them part. Matthew 16:21-23 From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life. Peter...began to rebuke him. “Never, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to you!” Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me.” It is hard for us to hear that God would be a part of allowing us to go through pain and suffering. But the reality is sin has consequences that have to be dealt with if we truly want things to get better. God’s people had to struggle with the challenge of having a more difficult time for a while, bricks without straw, for them to grow in their trust of what God was doing even when things were more difficult because they were doing what God had asked them to do. Not only do the people not understand this but Moses himself doesn’t as well. God allows leaders to struggle with trusting Him along with the people who are with them in the struggle. Jesus disciples struggled as did Jesus himself as their leader. While Jesus was praying the night before his death on the cross, he said this. Luke 22:42 “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” I’ll close with this Messianic prophecy that predicted that Jesus would be put to death on the cross surrounded by evil doers. This is a great reminder that when things were getting worse God turned everything around. God accomplished our salvation and eternal life with him forever in the without corruption place. Psalm 22:16 For dogs encompass me; a company of מְ֭רֵעִים evildoers encircles me; they have pierced my hands and feet.
