The Israelites said to them, 'If only we had died by the Lord’s hand in Egypt! There we sat round pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted, but you have brought us out into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death.' Exodus 16:3, NIV

 

On the day God called Moses to speak to Pharaoh on his behalf, about letting his people go free, Moses could never have realised that this was only the beginning of many more years of difficult confrontations and speaking on God’s behalf. In fact, his calling was never on a single front. Unbeknown to him at the time, his own people, waiting in the wings to be set free, would turn on him again and again with complaints, accusations and doubt.

 

We can only imagine that it was God’s hand on Moses, and Moses’ growing faith in him that kept him steadfast as he brought God’s requirements and ultimatums to Pharaoh – who, proud and powerful, refused to hear the truth from God. Unwilling to let God’s people go, Pharaoh resisted stubbornly. He continually chose pride over wisdom, hardening his heart rather than humbling it, against every sign and wonder set before him.

 

In many ways, the Israelites became a second Pharaoh in Moses’ life. Like Pharaoh, they saw God’s miraculous signs and wonders; and like him, they resisted God – not outright as Pharaoh had – but through grumbling. In fact, today’s verse must have felt like a slap in the face for Moses, after the immense undertaking he had embarked on: faithfully passing on God’s instructions for their safe departure from the land of their bondage, navigating impossible logistics, and witnessing a miraculous escape from Pharaoh and his army, second to none – all by God’s grace and favour.

 

'Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert die, they cried, the moment fear crept in. (Exodus 14:11) Then, when they couldn’t find water in the desert, and it was bitter at Marah, “the people grumbled against Moses, saying, ‘What are we to drink?’ ” (Exodus 15:24)

 

“In the desert the whole community grumbled against Moses and Aaron.” (Exodus 16:2) and, once again, God provided. He sent them bread from heaven in the morning and meat in the form of quail in the evening, but this time to “test them and see whether they follow [his] instructions” (Exodus 16:4). Their extreme ingratitude, doubt and short memory were, in their own way, as exhausting as Pharaoh and his chariots.

 

Yet Moses dealt with both the same way – not retaliating, but returning again and again to God. He interceded for his people rather than abandoning them. He reminded them of what God had done for them, modelling hope rather than despair. And, he brought their complaints to God rather than carrying the weight alone.

 

When we face our “Pharaohs” – illness, unemployment, difficult relationships, feuding family, financial strain; our own grumbling, doubt and discouragement – do we keep returning to God? He is the God of the impossible; trust him.

 

Prayer: All Highest, Glorious God, help us to grow in faith as we bring our “Pharaohs” to you and watch you do the impossible. Amen