Exodus 5

Then the foremen of the people of Israel came and cried to Pharaoh, "Why do you treat your servants like this?"

Exodus 5:15

The people of Israel, God's people, the people who in verse one of Exodus chapter 5 God calls "my people," consider themselves Pharaoh's servants. Their identity is in serving Pharaoh rather than serving God. This is obviously a conflict to the mission that Moses is on from God, because even the people of God do not see themselves as the people of God. They have this mixed up identity of who they serve and what they are working for. I think that we all do this. When we introduce ourselves, we say hi, my name is Kate, and then a lot of people will connect who they are to their job or to something related to their identity, and oftentimes it is not related to their identity within God's kingdom. It is not saying hi, my name is Kate and I am a servant of Jesus Christ. This is a problem within God's kingdom because we identify ourselves by things that are not our greatest purpose, and our greatest purpose is to serve God and to be one of His people here on earth, being the hands and feet of Jesus Christ doing His work. And so if this is not a part of our identity internally, or even the identity that we share with people, then we are missing the mark on His deliverance. This does not mean that we need to be missionaries, but it does mean that even if we are working in a normal office job, we see our work as serving God's kingdom. We hold ourselves to a standard of godly character, sharing the fruits of the Spirit with other people, being generous and kind and loving, and living in God's image.

For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has done evil to this people, and you have not delivered your people at all.

Exodus 5:23

Patience. Patience is one of the fruits of the Spirit described in Galatians, and it is something that I think we all struggle with. We think that God's promises should happen right now, we think that He is not working because we don't see it, but the reality is that God is working, and we see that in chapter 6, which is called God Promises Deliverance. God makes His promises, and if we know anything about His word, He keeps them and He fulfills them, but sometimes we must be patient. There are lessons to be learned in the here and now, and even if they seem hard or like suffering, there is something good to come out of it because God is working all things out for our good, just as Romans says. Something that I see as maybe something that God wants to establish is that He is the God of the people of Israel, and the people of Israel are His servants, not servants of Pharaoh. Maybe a part of this story is God establishing who He is, that He is their Lord and He is the one that will deliver them, not Pharaoh. And so I think oftentimes when we are facing trials, we must seek God as our deliverer, seek Him as the one who can make something happen, and be His servant.