Scripture to Read: Exodus 5:10–19
As we continue to walk through Exodus 5, we read how the taskmasters and their foremen went and told the Israelites that Pharaoh said, ‘I am not going to give you any straw. 11 You go and get straw for yourselves wherever you can find it, but none of your labor will be reduced.’” First, we see how the Israelites scattered quickly throughout Egypt looking for “stubble” to use for straw. The “stubble” was the leftover straw in the fields. Stubble was small, scarce, and definitely not as useful. The Israelites were given a task that was near impossible to fulfill. The taskmasters, who were Egyptians, pressed in on the Israelites to produce bricks just as they had been. The foremen were Israelites who had been placed in charge of overseeing the work of the other Israelites. The foremen were beaten because the Israelites under their authority were not producing the same number of bricks as they had been before the straw was taken away. The foremen had no idea why they were being treated the way they were so they pleaded with Pharaoh, thinking Pharaoh would rescue them. But Pharaoh enlightened the Israelite foremen and told them, in Exodus 5:17–18, “You are lazy, very lazy; therefore you say, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to the Lord.’ 18 So go now and work; for you will be given no straw, yet you must deliver the quota of bricks.” The foremen knew they were in a no-win situation. Our trials can make us feel hopeless and helpless, but God always has a plan.
Challenge & Application
· What would you do if you were an Israelite foreman faced with the struggle they faced?
· What trials have you faced that at the time seemed hopeless, but then God used that trial to work miraculously?
Don’t forget to pray using the A.C.T.S. (Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication) method!