Obedience

Exodus 7:6-7

“Moses and Aaron did just as the Lord commanded them. Moses was eighty years old, and Aaron was eighty-three years old when they spoke to Pharaoh.”

All my girls got their wisdom teeth out when they were around high school age. After the surgery, all of them had very detailed instructions from the doctor that they had to follow. Thankfully, my wife was there to make sure all of the instructions from the doctor were carried out. As a result, all of them had no complications after the surgery. At times, right after the surgery, they did not want to take their pills or stick to the foods they could eat for a couple of days. But following the doctors’ orders and being obedient led to a healthy mouth for years to come.

Moses and Aaron get the call again to talk to Pharaoh and this time, the plagues will commence directly afterwards. But Moses and Aaron don’t get those instructions just yet. All they get is the same call with the same promise that the Lord will harden Pharaoh’s heart and after judgment he will let the Israelites go.

The first time was a disaster. Obediently, they went before Pharaoh and told him what the Lord told them to say, and things went from bad to worse. So, the second time they went to Pharaoh you can almost feel the anxiety build. They must have thought… “When will the Lord move?” “How many times will we have to go before Pharaoh and see things get worse?” Never the less, they are obedient to call of the Lord. Verse 6 tells us that they did just as the Lord commanded.

Interestingly enough, the Bible records how old Moses and Aaron were at that time. These were two old men going before the most powerful king in the land and demanding that he let the Israelites go. From Pharaoh’s point of view this was a joke. Two old men show up making demands and he is supposed to just give in? Following the Lord is not the easiest thing to do. For starters, the Bible says that Satan is the prince of the world and naturally, the things of God are in stark contrast to Satan. So, if you are living a Christian life you should expect some push back and some sandpaper times.

Moses and Aaron are two old men asking the most powerful king in the land to let the Israelites go. The Israelites were 1 million strong and the slave population building Egypt and these two old men ask to let them go? Kind of lopsided if you ask me. However, Moses and Aaron were still obedient. They only get just enough information for the next step on the journey. “Go, once again before Pharaoh and ask to let my people go and I will give more information once you have completed the first step.” Faith in a simple explanation. Without obedience these two old men are just old men, but with God they are mighty warriors for the Kingdom.

You might be in the same spot. You know God has called you to do something, but you still are pushing back out of fear. The Lord only gives us the first set of instructions most of the time. We are to walk by faith and not by sight. Listening to the Lord and heeding his guidance takes time to perfect. We can learn from Moses about that. All he knew was to go before Pharaoh and to ask to let the people go. After that was pretty vague, a promise that the Lord will work out. That is all he had to go on.

If all you have is belief and obedience, you are in a great spot to see God move. Moses and Aaron did not get prewarned about the plagues, all they knew was that they were to go before Pharaoh and ask to let the people go, the rest was up to the Lord. Don’t let one more day go by before praying to the Lord for strength in obedience. If we can trust Christ with our very soul, then we should be able to trust Him to guide us in our obedience.