Impatience

Author: Joseph

Date: June 17, 2018

Moses had answered his call to go back to Egypt and be used by God to free His people out of bondage. The situation quickly turns for the worse, as Pharaoh becomes irritated with Moses’s request and increases the labor of the Israelites as well as takes away their supply of straw for making bricks. The Israelites are commanded by Pharaoh to maintain the same quota of productivity.

The Israelites were now frantically rushing to complete their daily tasks, going to the crop fields to collect grain and then preparing it into straw. The foreman of the Israelites resented Moses and Aaron for increasing their labor and Moses even cried out to God, asking Him why He had not delivered His people yet allowed Pharaoh to do more harm to Israel (Exodus 5:20-23). Moses and the Israelites were becoming impatient with God.

God responds to Moses and states that it is under compulsion that Pharaoh will let Israel go - Pharaoh would not do so out of his own will. God also sends Moses with a message to the Israelites. God tells the Israelites that He is the God of their forefathers, that He has heard their cries, and remembered His covenant. He also promises to bring them out of the burdens of the Egyptians and bring them to the land that was promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

Moses must have been encouraged and enthusiastic upon hearing God’s response. God offered them hope and a promise that no man could take away. The Israelites, however, did not listen to the message Moses spoke to them because of their heavy burdens and their impatience to get out from under them. The Israelites were promised by God that they would be relieved of their burdens, but they were short-sighted and wanted immediate results.

When God speaks to us and makes a promise to take action, we cannot be impatient and demand that His action take place immediately. God’s timing is always perfect and has a purpose that goes beyond our own circumstances. For the Israelites in Egypt, God also wanted to show the Egyptians that He alone was God and humble Pharaoh who thought of himself as a god. God would be recognized as sovereign both in Israel and in Egypt by delivering the Israelites from bondage.

If we are impatient with God, we can make the mistake of taking away the opportunity of glorifying Him through our circumstances. We also see our circumstances through selfish eyes, seeking only our benefit in the situation that we are uncomfortable with. It is never for us alone that God acts, but for everyone involved in our situation. If we want others who see our situation to recognize God’s power in our lives, we must be patient for Him to act in His timing.

Do not be impatient with God. Impatience would become Israel’s greatest sin as it caused them to face plagues and afflictions while they wandered through the desert after their deliverance from Egypt. God promised the Israelites deliverance from bondage and dwelling in their own land. The Israelites, however, provoked God and tested Him to the extent that a whole generation would die before they saw that promise fulfilled. What do you need to do in order to change your impatience into faithful trust? Wait upon the Lord. He is good to those who wait for Him (Lamentations 3:25).

Bible Passage: Exodus 5:6 – 6:9

Scripture quotations taken from the New American Standard Bible® (NASB). www.lockman.org