Buried with Work

"So the same day Pharaoh commanded the taskmasters over the people and their foremen, saying, 'You are no longer to give the people straw to make brick as previously; let them go and gather straw for themselves. But the quota of bricks which they were making previously, you shall impose on them; you are not to reduce any of it. Because they are lazy, therefore they cry out, "Let us go and sacrifice to our God." Let the labor be heavier on the men, and let them work at it so that they will pay no attention to false words.'" -Exodus 5.6-9

Moses arrives in Egypt and meets with the elders of Israel. Aaron speaks to them, and Moses performs the signs God gave him, and they believe and worship God. Stage one is accomplished, now it's on to stage two, talk to Pharaoh. The get an audience with him and tell him that God has commanded him to let Israel go and worship Him in the wilderness. Pharaoh does not know God and therefore refuses to obey Him.

Pharaoh has noticed that Israel has stopped working because of the words they have heard from Moses, and immediately does something about it. Just as a Pharaoh acted in paranoia to enslave the people, this Pharaoh, who has gotten accustomed to slave labor building his cities, does what he can to ensure they don't mess everything up. He adds to their work. No longer will they be provided with straw, but will have to gather it themselves. And then we see a key phrase.

"Let the labor be heavier on the men, and let them work at it so that they will pay no attention to false words." Pharaoh knows that the women and children are not threat to him. What are a bunch of women and children going to do against armed soldiers? But men, men are strong. Men are warriors. If men decide to act they can be difficult to put down. Pharaoh wants to put them down before they rise up. If he can't keep Moses from talking, he'l bury them with work so that they have no time to listen or process what has been said.

Men, the enemy does this all the time. He doesn't want us to rise up and take a stand because he knows that a determined and driven man is a serious force to be reckoned with. He knows that it's much easier to take out a threat before it can become a threat. In Exodus 1 the Pharaoh tried to do this by killing off the male babies. If the enemy can overwhelm us with work, or battles, so that we have no time to breathe, or focus on our passions, he can keep us from becoming a threat to his rule.

We cannot allow ourselves to become so buried that we focus on nothing else. It's not easy to do, but it's part of the warrior training we are put through. Everything we encounter in life is preparing us for battle, even the things that try and prevent us from preparing for battle. We must be disciplined and determined to always seek the voice of God. We must focus on our passion, and the calling He has placed on our lives, and always be striving for it, even if it's only baby steps at a time.

Right now I'm finding myself very overwhelmed. At times it's difficult to even write this blog. Right now it's 11:42 PM, and I tried to sit down and write this at 8:00 AM today. I have a desire to begin to sit down and think and pray through where God is leading my life in the next chapter. Right now I'm in a time of preparation, a time of training. And in this time I am learning how to balance my life, and even if need be, go on less sleep in order to be able to do everything I need to do.

The enemy will bury us with whatever he can to keep us from rising against him. Don't let him.

"Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another."

To God alone be the Glory!

Strength and Honor