A Stench and a Sword

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Opening Prayer

God of all the years, God beyond all the years, You are the author and source, the goal and end of my life.

Read Exodus 5:1-21

^[1] Afterward Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said, “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘Let my people go, so that they may hold a festival to me in the wilderness.'” ^[2] Pharaoh said, “Who is the LORD, that I should obey him and let Israel go? I do not know the LORD and I will not let Israel go.” ^[3] Then they said, “The God of the Hebrews has met with us. Now let us take a three-day journey into the wilderness to offer sacrifices to the LORD our God, or he may strike us with plagues or with the sword.” ^[4] But the king of Egypt said, “Moses and Aaron, why are you taking the people away from their labor? Get back to your work!” ^[5] Then Pharaoh said, “Look, the people of the land are now numerous, and you are stopping them from working.” ^[6] That same day Pharaoh gave this order to the slave drivers and overseers in charge of the people: ^[7] “You are no longer to supply the people with straw for making bricks; let them go and gather their own straw. ^[8] But require them to make the same number of bricks as before; don’t reduce the quota. They are lazy; that is why they are crying out, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to our God.’ ^[9] Make the work harder for the people so that they keep working and pay no attention to lies.” ^[10] Then the slave drivers and the overseers went out and said to the people, “This is what Pharaoh says: ‘I will not give you any more straw. ^[11] Go and get your own straw wherever you can find it, but your work will not be reduced at all.'” ^[12] So the people scattered all over Egypt to gather stubble to use for straw. ^[13] The slave drivers kept pressing them, saying, “Complete the work required of you for each day, just as when you had straw.” ^[14] And Pharaoh’s slave drivers beat the Israelite overseers they had appointed, demanding, “Why haven’t you met your quota of bricks yesterday or today, as before?” ^[15] Then the Israelite overseers went and appealed to Pharaoh: “Why have you treated your servants this way? ^[16] Your servants are given no straw, yet we are told, ‘Make bricks!’ Your servants are being beaten, but the fault is with your own people.” ^[17] Pharaoh said, “Lazy, that’s what you are-lazy! That is why you keep saying, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to the LORD.’ ^[18] Now get to work. You will not be given any straw, yet you must produce your full quota of bricks.” ^[19] The Israelite overseers realized they were in trouble when they were told, “You are not to reduce the number of bricks required of you for each day.” ^[20] When they left Pharaoh, they found Moses and Aaron waiting to meet them, ^[21] and they said, “May the LORD look on you and judge you! You have made us obnoxious to Pharaoh and his officials and have put a sword in their hand to kill us.”

Meditate

Jesus says, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” (Matt. 11:28). This is a promise we need to hang on to even when things appear to get worse (21).

Think Further

I allow myself to hear all the voices in all their variety in the conversations in this reading. I hear the tones of voice: arrogance; threat; exasperation; deferential circumlocution (16): the foremen do not dare to accuse Pharaoh directly. The dialogue swings between “This is what the Lord says…” in verse 1 and “This is what Pharaoh says…” in verse 10. I notice the one group who say nothing–the people. They have no energy or art for speech. There are seven references to “hard labor” in verses 6-21: toil stretches from horizon to horizon, a shoreless sea of struggle to meet quotas.

I experience vertigo looking down from this pyramid of oppression, stretching from Pharaoh on his throne down to the youngest Israelite child searching for sticks of straw. I think of those enslaved in systems of exploitation in my world–sweatshop factories; desperate farmers; indentured laborers; child slaves; sex workers transported internationally like cattle; the sick; the starving; the abandoned. What leverage do I have to change their plight? Am I pessimistic or cynical about any effect that my little contribution might make? In 4:31 it says that the people believed and worshiped; but as things got worse for them, they couldn’t sustain their trust: it dissolved into anger and accusation. As I picture the tongue-lashing that Moses and Aaron (“you” in v. 21 is plural) received: “You have made us stink!”(NLT) I reflect on the question, “Have I perhaps been hurt by unfair or inaccurate accusations that my efforts to do good have made a situation worse?” (21). I pray for those–for myself–whose trustfulness has been beaten down by suffering and hardship, sometimes sudden, sometimes chronic. The question, “Who is the Lord” (2) rings out in the darkness. It does not just mean, “What is his name?” It means, “What is he like?” The question will not go long unheeded.

Apply

Today’s reading brings us face to face with the exploited, the downtrodden. Prayerfully consider one group you know about that reaches out to the disadvantaged, and make a donation to their ministry.

Closing prayer

Father, forgive me for attempting to shut out the poor from awareness. They make me uncomfortable and I keep them off my radar. I need a fresh infusion of love in my heart.

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