02/01/2025
Back to School Message!
Exodus 5:1-9 and 19-21.
Moses and Aaron went and spoke to Pharaoh.
They told him, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Let my people go so they may hold a festival in my honor in the wilderness.”
“Is that so?” retorted Pharaoh. “And who is the Lord? Why should I listen to him and let Israel go? I don’t know the Lord, and I will not let Israel go.”
But Aaron and Moses persisted. “The God of the Hebrews has met with us,” they declared.
“So let us take a three-day journey into the wilderness so we can offer sacrifices to the Lord our God. If we don’t, he will kill us with a plague or with the sword.”
Pharaoh replied, “Moses and Aaron, why are you distracting the people from their tasks? Get back to work!
Look, there are many of your people in the land, and you are stopping them from their work.”
That same day Pharaoh sent this order to the Egyptian slave drivers and the Israelite foremen:
“Do not supply any more straw for making bricks. Make the people get it themselves!
But still require them to make the same number of bricks as before.
Don’t reduce the quota.
They are lazy.
That’s why they are crying out, ‘Let us go and offer sacrifices to our God.’
Load them down with more work.
Make them sweat! That will teach them to listen to lies!”
In these verses, Moses (and Aaron) obediently and bravely approached Pharaoh to ask for a three-day journey into the wilderness.
And instead of receiving a “yes,” Pharaoh made the work more difficult!
Don’t we often expect things to go easily if what we’re doing is part of God’s plan?
Imagine how you would feel if you had done such a brave thing only to have the metaphorical door slammed in your face.
And in verses 19-21, it gets worse!⁷
The Israelite foremen could see that they were in serious trouble when they were told, “You must not reduce the number of bricks you make each day.”
As they left Pharaoh’s court, they confronted Moses and Aaron, who were waiting outside for them.
The foremen said to them, “May the Lord judge and punish you for making us stink before Pharaoh and his officials.
You have put a sword into their hands, an excuse to kill us!”
The people that Moses is pleading for turned against him because they couldn’t see past their suffering.
In the end, we’re all probably familiar with what happens: eventually, after the plagues and Pharaoh’s loss of his son, he summoned Moses and Aaron and tells the Israelites (finally!) to get out of Egypt.
So, again, what does this have to do with heading back-to-school?
Well, it certainly has nothing to do with school supplies, your new schedule, or even your new classrooms and teachers.
It has everything to do with this school year, though.
Your purpose, not just this year, but every year, is to serve God.
As you start the school year in the coming week, it may be tempting to follow the crowd and blend in.
But, like Moses, even though you’ll have obstacles and challenges, and even though things might not go smoothly, your goal can’t change.
And if your goal is to serve God, how can you do that?
Well, let’s take a look at the lessons we learned from Moses:
1. When challenges arise in our walk with Christ, it does not mean that God has left us.
It’s hard to think of anyone who had it more difficult than Moses.
And he didn’t do everything well either.
There were lots of bumps and bruises, but ultimately, Moses trusted that God’s plan would work.
Don’t make the mistake of quitting when challenges arise, thinking “God must not be in this.”
Unbiblical Christianity would tell you that if God “is in it,” then things will work out smoothly and quickly.
This is a lie.
Dedicate your year to the Lord, and make your mind up now that it won’t be easy, but that you will remain obedient.
2. Your inadequacies don’t have any effect on how God can use you.
Moses said he was “slow of speech,” and yet he was the one (along with Aaron) that God chose to defend the Israelites and plead their case to the most powerful man in Egypt.
This year, you may think that your inadequacies or insecurities make you unusable for the kingdom of God.
This couldn’t be further from the truth.
Spend some time in the Word studying mighty men of God, just like Moses, and you’ll see that God has a way of using our insecurities for His purpose.
He gets the glory, and you get to be part of His plan and purpose.
3. Your obedience might be confusing to others, but don’t let them stop you.
In Moses’ case, the people he was trying to help turned on him.
The heart of man can change so quickly!
But Moses stuck to the plan.
Sure, he probably had about a thousand doubts, but he heard from the Lord, and that was enough to keep him going even when the naysayers jeered at him.
So, you may be wondering… how can I know what to do when there is no burning bush and no voice of God telling me the plan?
Well, we have something that Moses didn’t have: God’s Word.
When you question your purpose and identity in Christ, go to God’s Word to hear what He has to say.
Better yet, go to God’s Word every day of this school year, and your desires and heart will transform.
You won’t question your mission if you spend time reading about how God used the men and women who came before you.
Our most significant takeaway from Moses’ life should be this: when we follow God and are set apart for His purpose, things won’t be easy, but they’ll be worth it.
You have a purpose in Christ this year and every year, and God can give you the strength to start walking in it.
