XXXVI

FAITHLESS FREEDMEN

And the Lord said unto Moses at the burning bush, "Go, and gather the elders of Israel together, and say unto them, The Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, appeared unto me, saying, I have surely visited you, and seen that which is done to you in Egypt: and I have said, I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt . . . unto a land flowing with milk and honey. And they shall hearken to thy voice." Ex. 3: 16, 18.

"Moses answered and said, But behold, they will not believe me, nor hearken unto my voice; for they will say, The Lord hath not appeared unto thee." Ex. 4:1.

"And the Lord said unto him, What is that in thine hand? And he said, A rod. And He said, Cast it on the ground. And he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and Moses fled from before it. And the Lord said unto Moses, Put forth thine hand, and take it by the tail. And he put forth his hand, and caught it, and it became a rod in his hand: that they may believe that the Lord God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath appeared unto thee. And the Lord said furthermore unto him, Put now thine hand into thy bosom. And he put his hand into his bosom: and when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous as snow. And He said, Put thine hand into thy bosom again. And he put his hand into his bosom again; and plucked it out of his bosom, and, behold, it was turned again as his other flesh. And it shall come to pass, if they will not believe thee, neither hearken

to the voice of the first sign, that they will believe the voice of the latter sign. And it shall come to pass, if they will not believe also these two signs, neither hearken unto thy voice, that thou shalt take of the water of the river, and pour it upon the dry land; and the water which thou takest out of the river shall become blood upon the dry land." Ex. 4:2-9.

"And Moses and Aaron went and gathered together all the elders of the children of Israel." But they did not believe what Aaron told them. This is evident from the fact that Aaron did the signs which they were commanded to perform in case the elders did not believe. At the first promise of deliverance, these solemn elders shook their hoary heads in hopeless unbelief. But Aaron threw the rod down among them, and the living serpent doubtless caused a movement among the elders, not unlike the movement which Moses made when he saw the serpent at the first. But Aaron took the serpent by the tail, and doubtless handed the harmless rod for inspection to the cautiously returning elders; and they wondered if there was not, after all, something in what Moses and Aaron had told them.

But yet they did not believe. Then the second sign was performed. At the sight of the leprous hand there is another scene. When the hand was healed, no doubt there were many expressions of wonder at the power manifested, and many believed the message of Moses; but some doubted.

Then the water of the river was poured out at their feet, and became a crimson stream. At the sight of the blood they believed, for it is written that "after Aaron did the signs" the people believed.

But their belief was based on "seeing." There is a believing more blessed than this. "Thomas, because thou hast seen Me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that

have not seen, and yet have believed." Believed what? Believed the word of God, of course. Had not God said to Abraham, "Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years; and also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance. But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again" (Gen. 15:13-16). If the elders and people had believed God's word to Abraham, they would have believed the message of Moses, and would have moved out by faith without seeing the signs. "We walk by faith and not by sight."

But now that they have seen the signs, they think themselves men of faith, but they are not; they are men of sight. "Except ye see signs and wonders, ye will not believe." The trouble in basing our believing on signs is that signs change. Now, instead of signs of deliverance there arise signs of bondage. Instead of hurrying out of Egypt after signs, they are hustling into Egypt after stubble; and instead of signs of more freedom, there are signs of more flogging. Now, the signs of the serpent and the blood are eclipsed by the signs of the stubble and the beating; and instead of rejoicing in Moses as the agent of their deliverance, they reproach him as the agent of their destruction. The signs have changed. Better, far better than the wriggling rod or the whitening hand, is this word of God to Abraham, "In the fourth generation they shall come hither again."

XXXVII

THE BLESSINGS OF BONDAGE

There are blessings even in bondage. It was the bondage of Egypt that prepared the Children of Israel for deliverance. It is evident that but for the bondage they suffered, they would have preferred to remain in Egypt. It is clear from Ezek. 20:7-9 that they had, to a large extent, accepted the gods of the Egyptians, which would go to prove that they were settling down to become a component part of this heathen empire.

As a preparation for their deliverance from spiritual bondage, God suffered them to experience physical bondage. Consequently it is written, "He turned their [the Egyptians] heart to hate His people, to deal subtilly with His servants." This does not say that He made their heart hateful, but that He turned their hateful heart to hate His people. And all the bondage which followed was permitted because God loved His people, and desired only their good.

The Egyptians feared that the Israelites would become strong and turn against them in time of war, "and so get them up out of the land. Therefore they did set over them taskmasters to afflict them with their burdens.

. . And they made their lives bitter with hard bondage, in mortar, and in brick, and in all manner of service in the field: all their service wherein they made them serve was with rigor" (Ex. 1:10, 14). It will be noticed that Pharaoh's plan to keep them in bondage was Jehovah's plan to set them free.

"And Pharaoh charged all his people, saying, Every son that is born ye shall cast into the river." Ex. 1:22.

When their bondage became unbearable, then "they cried, and their cry came up unto God by reason of their bondage. And God heard their groaning." Of course He heard it, and it pained His heart, "for in all their afflictions He was afflicted." There was just as much love in the dealings of God with Israel at this time when He had turned the heart of the Egyptians to hate His people, as there was later when, with shouts of victory, and banners flying, they marched out of their cruel bondage. God loved them just as much when by bondage and beating He was driving them to groan and cry, as when He delivered them, with joy and singing, on the day of their redemption. Reader, remember this truth. It will help you some dark day. "Whom the Lord loveth He chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom He receiveth."

The Lord was listening for Israel's groans, and when He heard them He was glad. He listened for them to cry to Him for help. And when they cried He was glad, and hastened to halt the shepherd whom He had already prepared for such a time as this. And to him He said:

"I have surely seen the affliction of My people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows; and I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land, and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey." Ex. 3:7, 8.

When Moses and Aaron with signs and wonders bore the glad tidings to the groaning bondmen, the bondmen were glad. "And the people believed: and when they heard that the Lord had visited the Children of Israel, and that He had looked upon their affliction, then they bowed their heads and worshiped." But their bondage was not yet over. Their bitterest bondage was ahead of