Exodus 5 & 6: Bricks Without Straw

Moses went to Pharaoh. He delivered the message. He asked for three days in the desert to worship God. And Pharaoh's response? He took away the straw and doubled the quota.Following God doesn't always make life easier — at least not straight away. The Israelites, whose hopes had been raised, now find themselves in a worse situation than before. They turn on Moses. Moses turns on God. And in one of the most intimate moments in all of Exodus, God responds to Moses' cry with something profound: six "I will" promises. I will bring you out. I will free you. I will redeem you. I will take you as my people. I will be your God. I will bring you into the land.We explore the gap between God's promises and present suffering — why God sometimes lets things get worse before they get better, what it means to have a spirit too crushed to hear good news, and how Exodus 6 foreshadows the covenant sealed in Christ's blood.Key questions explored:• Why does following God sometimes make things harder before they improve?• What does it mean that Israel's spirit was "too crushed" to hear God's promises?• How do God's six "I will" promises in Exodus 6 speak to us personally today?• What is the relationship between the covenant name YHWH and God's faithfulness?