Exodus 6:10-13 "And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Go in, speak unto Pharaoh king of Egypt, that he let the children of Israel go out of his land. And Moses spake before the LORD, saying, Behold, the children of Israel have not hearkened unto me; how then shall Pharaoh hear me, who am of uncircumcised lips? And the LORD spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, and gave them a charge unto the children of Israel, and unto Pharaoh king of Egypt, to bring the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt."
Exodus 6:26-27 "These are that Aaron and Moses, to whom the LORD said, Bring out the children of Israel from the land of Egypt according to their armies. These are they which spake to Pharaoh king of Egypt, to bring out the children of Israel from Egypt: these are that Moses and Aaron."
There is an adage that says to do something repeatedly the same way and expect different results is the definition of insanity. At this point, Moses was wondering what the LORD was doing. Moses and Aaron had spoken to Pharaoh. Now the children of Israel were in harder bondage than before, and they blamed Moses and Aaron.
Moses and Aaron had spoken to the people again about the will of God. However, the people were not encouraged and did not listen. Their burden was so heavy at this point that they would not listen to Moses. They found no comfort in his words.
Nothing was going according to Moses’ idea of how things should work. God did not appear to be doing anything. The children of Israel paid no attention to him. And now the LORD was telling Moses to go back before Pharaoh and tell him to let the children of Israel go.
Moses basically told God it was pointless. The children of Israel, who were nothing but slaves in Egypt, would not listen to him. He had already complained to God that he was not a good speaker. Why would Pharaoh pay any attention to him?
Verses fourteen through twenty-five give the genealogy of Moses and Aaron. God intended for us to understand exactly who Moses and Aaron were. This was the Moses and Aaron that God had called and appointed to lead Israel up out of Egypt. This was the Moses and Aaron whose faith was tested to the point that their attitude was “What’s the use?”
There were so many things that were going unnoticed by Moses and Aaron during this trying period. They were Hebrews, and yet they were left to move freely among the people within the land of Egypt. For no apparent reason, they were able to gain audience with the king of Egypt every time God sent them to Pharaoh. They were so focused on what they saw as the result that they did not see the hand of God at work in keeping them from being brought under the bondage of their brethren.
We need to take heed to ourselves today that we do not get so caught up in what we think the outcome should look like that we miss the “little” blessings along the way. Rather than asking “What’s the use?” we should be asking “Is there not a cause?” God knows what He is doing and why He is doing it. May we learn to have confidence in His work, even when we do not see it.