Getting settled to a new life
But Pharaoh shouted, “You’re just lazy! Lazy! That’s why you’re saying, ‘Let us go and offer sacrifices to the Lord.’ Now get back to work! No straw will be given to you, but you must still produce the full quota of bricks.” The Israelite foremen could see that they were in serious trouble when they were told, “You must not reduce the number of bricks you make each day.” As they left Pharaoh’s court, they confronted Moses and Aaron, who were waiting outside for them. The foremen said to them, “May the Lord judge and punish you for making us stink before Pharaoh and his officials. You have put a sword into their hands, an excuse to kill us! Exodus 5:17-21
The Israelites had been slaves in Egypt for four hundred years that when Moses was sent by God to let them know that they will be freed from their bondage, they resisted him. This is what you could glean from the text. They were afraid of what their taskmaster would do to them if they were found out not completing their task. Instead of welcoming God’s effort to free them, they expressed their fear of the action that will be taken by their taskmaster. This kind of attitude seemed to be prevalent to people who had been accustomed to their bondage that they resisted any attempt to free them. When Jesus Christ freed those that trusted Him as their Lord and Savior from their sin, there will always be a tendency to revert back to the life they had before when they were still living in sin. Inspite of the ugliness of fear, there is the tendency to stay being overcome by it rather than trusting God’s provision of peace. Grief is devastating, yet there are those who would rather stay where they were rather than accept the strength that God provides. You could be so accustomed to your old life before you came to know Jesus in your life that you would prefer going back to that old life than accept the new life God provides. Even if you know that remaining in a relationship with someone that could bring about harmful influence, you might be tempted to let go of such relationship fearing that you might offend such individual. Do you prefer going back to your old practices rather than trust the new things God wants you to have because you do not know where this new life will lead you? Do you consider God’s working in your life disruptions from your selfish desires? Do you fear change so much that when God leads you to make one, you would rather stay where you are? When God said, “anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun,” (2 Corinthians 5:17) welcome this new life and trust Him because you will not regret that you decided to do so.
Blessings.
