Taking a Closer Look at the Conflict Between God & Pharaoh in Exodus 5

     In December I read something by Watchman Nee that really made me think.  He said that in the book of Revelation you can see chapter by chapter the battle between God and Satan is for worship.  As I thought about this, I realized you can trace this battle throughout the Bible.

     First you have to take a look at Genesis 1:26-27 where it says that God made man in His image and likeness so that man might express and represent Him.  Don’t you think that Satan could see that, and that’s why he didn't waste any time in enticing Eve to eat the fruit that God had commanded them not to? Satan was out to destroy man's ability to worship God.

Good thing God had already factored that into His eternal plan of salvation!  Ever since then it's obvious  Satan has been plotting ways to stop or at least hinder man’s worship to God. 

     As I’ve been reading through the chapters on the conflict between Pharaoh and Moses in the Life-Study of Exodus, it’s made me think about this matter of worship because the first thing God told Moses to do was tell Pharaoh to let the Israelites go to hold a feast to Him.

And afterward Moses and Aaron went in and told Pharaoh, Thus  says Jehovah, God of Israel, let My people go that they may hold a feast unto Me in the wilderness. Exodus 5:1

     When this news hit Pharaoh he was like, who is Jehovah that I should listen to Him?  And thinking that the Israelites must have too much time on their hands, Pharaoh tells the taskmasters to demand that in addition to meeting the weekly quota of bricks the Israelites now have to get their own straw to make them.

On page 155-156 of chapter 13 Witness Lee shares his insights on these events:

To be idle in this sense means to feast unto the Lord and to sacrifice to Him.... 
Some are so industrious that they have no time to feast unto the Lord...We are not to be so busy with the things of this life that we disregard the word of God....The purpose ordained by God for our existence is to live Christ, to live God out, and to have God's testimony. But the people of this world have only their existence they have no purpose. Eventually they make their existence itself the purpose of their existence. They know nothing but existence. Satan picks up the existence of human beings or of human living and uses this existence to usurp people so that today the whole world cares only for existence, not for God's purpose in existence (Lee, Witness. Life-Study of Exodus. Anaheim: Living Stream Ministry, 1979, Print).


     I really liked getting recalibrated by this word  because God created us to love Him and enjoy Him and this is the feast that God needs from His people week by week!
  
You can listen to excerpts of this life training and some outstanding commentary by listening to Life-Study of the Bible with Witness Lee on Exodus.

Other Posts on the Life-Study of Exodus:

Why Did God Use So Many Women in Exodus 1 & 2?
Taking a Closer Look at the Conflict Between God and Pharaoh in Exodus 5
What Does the Name Jehovah Mean in Exodus 6:2?
Why Did God Really Send the Manna in Exodus 6?
What is the Meaning of the Bitter Waters at Marah in Exodus 15:23?
How are the 10 Commandments Like God's Engagement Covenant in Exodus 20?
How Can You Keep the 10 Commandments?
Why Did the Israelites Build a Tabernacle in Exodus 25:8?
Taking Another Look at the Priesthood of the Believers in Exodus 19:6
Seeing God's Spiritual Building in Exodus 26 - Part 1 of 1
Seeing God's Spiritual Building in Exodus 26 - Part 2 of 2
Taking a Closer Look at the Tabernacle in Exodus 25 - The Ark
Taking a Closer Look at the Tabernacle in Exodus 25 - The Showbread Table & the Lampstand
Taking a Closer Look at the Tabernacle in Exodus 27 & 30 - The Bronze Altar & Laver

Taking a Closer Look at the Tabernacle in Exodus - The Golden Incense Altar