We are still in chapter ten of Exodus with our word for today which is actually a phrase. וַאֲנַ֣חְנוּ לֹֽא־נֵדַ֗ע we do not know. It is used twice in the Old Testament. Let’s look at how it’s used in our chapter. Exodus 10:24-27 Then Pharaoh called Moses and said, “Go, serve the Lord; your little ones also may go with you; only let your flocks and your herds remain behind.” But Moses said, “You must also let us have sacrifices and burnt offerings, that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God. Our livestock also must go with us; not a hoof shall be left behind, for we must take of them to serve the Lord our God, and וַאֲנַ֣חְנוּ לֹֽא־נֵדַ֗ע we do not know with what we must serve the Lord until we arrive there.” But the Lord hardened Pharaoh's heart, and he would not let them go.
Pharaoh wanted a guarantee that the people would come back this is why he didn’t want to let everyone and everything go. He was probably thinking that if something stayed back they would have to come back to at least get it. Sort of like collateral. Moses explanation to Pharaoh why everyone and everything had to be allowed to go I find very interesting. Moses shares that God hadn’t let they know exactly what the plan was just that they all needed to go. Wow this is quite telling about how trust, belief, and faith work. Trust is not belief without evidence because as we have already seen God had given Moses plenty of evidence the he could trust that God was who he said he was and would do what he said he would do. And God had also already given Pharaoh evidence he was who he said he was by all the miraculous acts of judgment he was experiencing. Trust or faith is also not having all the details you want ahead of time. We tend to want a guarantee that what God asks of us will be comfortable. This is kind of funny because throughout the Bible faith always involves some level of being uncomfortable. The Holy Spirit speaking through Paul says this well. 2 Corinthians 1:3-7 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ. God knows this is how we grow in our faith. We trust in God’s goodness in the heartbreak of life as we experience God showing up in our struggles. No wonder Abraham was called the father of our faith because there was no one before him for God to say remember the promise I made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob like he was able to do after all of these people experienced God showing up in their lives. No it was just Abraham and God. In a sense that is true of us. It does all come down to just you and God. If you are open he will show himself to you in ways you can only experience during the challenges and struggles of this corrupted place. The good news is that God loves us and is there for us. I’ll contrast our phrase for today in that we don’t know all the details of what God will ask of us but we can trust him because of what we do know. Romans 8:18, 26, 28 I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us…The Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans…And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. Because we know God is for us and loves us and is working everything out for our good we can trust him with not knowing all the details. I’ll close with the other time our phrase is used in the Bible. 2 Chronicles 20:12 Our God, will you not judge them? For we have no power to face this vast army that is attacking us. וַאֲנַ֗חְנוּ לֹ֤א נֵדַע֙ We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.
