Creating the Proper Circumstances

Scripture: Moses returned to the Lord and said, “Why, Lord, why have you brought trouble on this people? Is this why you sent me? Ever since I went to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has brought trouble on this people, and you have not rescued your people at all.” Then the Lord said to Moses, “Now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh: Because of my mighty hand he will let them go; because of my mighty hand he will drive them out of his country.” Exodus 5:22-6:1

Observation: When Moses first arrives back in Egypt, tells the Israelites he has spoken with the Lord, and then goes to Pharaoh and asks for release of the Jews, Pharaoh doesn't just say 'no' but he increases the work of the slaves. He calls the lazy, gets angry at the request, makes their work nearly impossible, and beats them for their failure. It is this context that Moses asks the Lord why he did this to make their lives harder, and the Lord responds that this new situation is the one in which he will now act to accomplish his purposes.

This difference in Pharaoh is important in establishing the Lord's authority, power, and purpose. Israel had been slaves in Egypt for some time, and if Moses had just arrived and asked for their release, and Pharaoh granted it, one could argue it was because Egypt just didn't need this large people-group anymore. Perhaps they were no longer valuable, or even a strain on resources. Furthermore, it would seem obvious they were released because Moses asked, and thus it was Moses that secured their release.

Now, none of the above can be true. Pharaoh actively demonstrates both his desire to keep the Jews as slaves, and a general hatred and distrust for them. There will be no favors granted! Furthermore, whatever Moses said and did accomplished the opposite of 'freedom', so what happens next will not be because of Moses. Pharaoh's renewed anger, attention, and contempt for the Jews creates the proper circumstances for the Lord's miraculous redemption.

Application: This idea that the Lord brings redemption when circumstances have actually reached the point of "impossible" is repeated many times in the bible, and is obvious even in our world today. And it exists on both global and personal levels. I have seen individuals whose lives flip around in an instant, only when they have reached an absolute rock-bottom. We know that world history has changed many times at the exact moment when one outcome was inevitable ... then suddenly wasn't.

God is always at work, everywhere, but he really shines as our great God when the situation goes from "bad" to "impossible."

I have thought for a while that our country is nearing the "impossible" moment, when we will have moved beyond the point of a "political season" or "cultural trend" and instead are at the point of social collapse. I know my perspective is skewed by my location, and there are places in the country that aren't so bad, and thus perhaps there will more likely be some regional issues that occur. That said, today I have hope that the Lord can and will still show up. Maybe he is still setting up the proper circumstances.

Prayer: Lord, I do know you can do all things, and I also know by every example that you can and do act at the moment when human logic thinks all is lost. You are the God of miracles, big and small, global and personal. May thy will be done. Amen.