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Inspiration by E-Mail for the Week of June 16, 2013

COUNTERATTACK

Then, as they came out from Pharaoh, they met Moses and Aaron who stood there to meet them. And they said to them, "Let the Lord look on you and judge, because you have made us abhorrent in the sight of Pharaoh and in the sight of his servants, to put a sword in their hand to kill us."(Exodus 5:20-21)

Moses confronted Pharaoh and in the name of the Lord, he demanded that Pharaoh let the people of Israel go. Pharaoh was not happy with the demand. Instead of granting Moses' request, Pharaoh made it worse for the Israelite workers. Up to that point, Moses' work for Israel made it harder, not better. Pharaoh was angry. The people of Israel were angry, and more tired than ever. Moses was just discouraged.

Do you hear the complaint of the people? They said to Moses, "Let the Lord look on you and judge, because you have made us abhorrent in the sight of Pharaoh." What was the crime of Moses and Aaron? They had made the children of Israel "abhorrent in the sight of Pharaoh." When Israel was a submitted slave to Pharaoh, it was easy to think that somehow Pharaoh was their friend. Now that the idea of freedom entered the minds of the Israelites, Pharaoh showed how he felt about them all along. He hated them. If they remained submissive slaves, fine. If they wanted to be free, he hated them.

In some ways this is the same as the spiritual warfare we experience with the enemy of our soul. Satan seems "friendly" to us when we accept his lordship. Go with the flow and surrender to Satan and everything seems "peaceful" with him. But when we start to be free in Jesus, Satan often will try to make life difficult for us. We have to anticipate his counterattack and value the freedom we gain in Jesus much more that the supposed "peaceful bondage" that Satan offers.

When Moses first came to the people of Israel and offered them freedom, they were excited. Exodus 4:31 said "So the people believed; and when they heard that the Lord had visited the children of Israel and that He had looked on their affliction, then they bowed their heads and worshipped." Now, at the counterattack from their slave master, the faith, excitement, and worship of chapter four was gone.

Many Christians can have joy when things are easy, but true maturity is shown when we can have God's peace in the middle of battle. No matter what you face, you can have joy and you can thank God for who He is, even if you don't understand what He is doing. You can have the peace of God even when the devil counterattacks.

By David Guzik

David is the pastor of Calvary Chapel Santa Barbara and teaches at Generation Bible College

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