Pharaoh gave some good advice:
"Pay no attention to lies."
The problem was what else he was saying. He told his men in charge (they called them "slave drivers") to force the Israelites to keep the same quote for making bricks, but without providing the hay for which to do it with -- adding more time to their task (obtaining hay/straw). Pharaoh thought that the Israelites wanted to leave for a few days to get out of their work, not to worship their God. He though they were lazy.
When the Israelite foremen appealed to Pharaoh and lost, they met Moses and Aaron afterwards. "May the Lord look upon you and judge you! You have made us a stench to Pharaoh and his officials and have put a sword in their hand to kill us." They were not happy at Pharaoh's reaction to the word Aaron and Moses had spoken to him. Moses returned to the Lord and said, "O Lord, why have You brought trouble upon this people? Is this why You sent me? Ever since I went to Pharaoh to speak in Your Name, he has brought trouble upon this people, and You have not rescued Your people at all."
That's a pretty brazen thing to say to God, but He was seemingly not put off by it. He can apparently handle our honesty before Him. This is a good thing to remember. Sometimes our hearts need to speak to Him what we are feeling. Composing "proper" words might fall far short of what we really want to tell Him. He is our God and He has given us an advocate in Jesus His Son. We are like His favorite children now, so our complaints and prayers should not offend Him.
I would do well to remember this now as I pray. I need His help with HM Magazine.
Posted by Doug Van Pelt at May 10, 2007 02:44 PMYes, we are His favorite children and He delights in us. I can just imagine when we've been mistreated, how God looks upon those who have acted against us, and shakes His head. He's the One who sets it all straight in the end.
And even if we were to take our time and compose proper words to speak out to Him, God still knows what we feel in our hearts. Even if we keep a stiff upper lip and hold back the tears, I believe He counts the tears that we keep hidden.
He's a great and loving God. Compassionate and able.