Exodus 5

B. God’s demonstrations of His sovereignty chs. 5-11 God permitted the conflict between Moses and Pharaoh for five reasons at least.

1. In this conflict God displayed His superior power and sovereignty over Pharaoh and the gods of Egypt.
2. God strengthened the faith of His people so that they would trust and obey Him and thereby realize all of His gracious purposes for them as a nation.
3. God also used these events to heighten anticipation of and appreciation for the redemption He would provide. The Israelites would forever after look back on the Exodus as the greatest demonstration of God’s love at work for them. These conflicts show how divine sovereignty works with human freedom. God exercises His sovereignty by allowing people a measure of freedom to make choices, for which he holds them responsible. They also clarify how God hands people over to the consequences of the sins they insist on pursuing as punishment for their sins. “It is impossible to find a more exact illustration of the truth of Rom. i. than that presented in this story of Pharaoh’s conflict with Jehovah.” [Note: Ibid., p. 90.

Exodus 5:1-6

1. Pharaoh’s response to Moses and Aaron’s initial request 5:1-6:1

Exodus 5:11-21

Stubble was the part of the corn or grain stalk that remained standing after field hands had harvested a crop (Exodus 5:12). This the Israelites chopped up and mixed with the clay to strengthen their bricks. “In Exodus 2:23 the cry of the people went up before God. By contrast, here in Exodus 5:15 the cry of the people is before Pharaoh. It is as if the author wants to show that Pharaoh was standing in God’s way and thus provides another motivation for the plagues which follow.” [Note: Sailhamer, The Pentateuch . . ., p. 250. “This Pharaoh, so unreasonable with men and so stingy with straw, is about to be shown up before Yahweh as no more than a man of straw.” [Note: Durham, p. 66. The Israelites turned on Moses just as the Israelites in Jesus’ day turned against their Savior. “The Lord God brought a vine out of Egypt, but during the four hundred years of its sojourn there, it had undeniably become inveterately degenerate and wild.” [Note: Meyer, p. 18.

Exodus 5:22-6

Moses’ prayer of inquiry and complaint reveals the immaturity of his faith at this time. He, too, needed the demonstrations of God’s power that followed.

“By allowing us to listen to Moses’ prayer to God, the author uncovers Moses’ own view of his calling. It was God’s work, and Moses was sent by God to do it.” [Note: Sailhamer, The Pentateuch . . ., p. 250. This section climaxes with the apparent failure of Yahweh’s plan to rescue Israel. This desperate condition provides the pessimistic backdrop for the supernatural demonstrations of Yahweh’s power that follow.