Afterward, Moses and Aaron went and said to Pharaoh, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘Let my people go that they may hold a feast to me in the wilderness.'”
– Exodus 5:1
Think about this verse in light of what we prayed through in the last episode of Pray the Word in Exodus 4:13, when God was telling Moses, “Go and speak to Pharaoh.” And Moses was saying, “Send somebody else, because I can’t speak. There’s no way I can do this.”
And now, one chapter later, Exodus 5:1, we see Moses and Aaron going to Pharaoh, the leader over Egypt, and saying, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘Let my people go. All these thousands upon thousands upon thousands of Israelites who are your slaves, let them go that they may hold a feast to me in the wilderness.'”
Boldness Based in Christ
How bold is that? Like feel the boldness, the weight of Exodus 5:1. Put yourself in Moses and Aaron’s shoes, going to the powerful ruler of Egypt, getting a meeting, and saying, “Let all these people go.” What a statement.
And as I read this, I think so many things in light of what we prayed through in Exodus 4, and God is doing what He said He would do. God is giving Moses, and Aaron with him, what they need to speak to Pharaoh. But this is where I just want to bring it into your life, my life, today. Because yes, the circumstances are very different in so many different ways. But God has called you and me today to speak in a very similar way.
Acts 1:8 makes clear that followers of Jesus have the power of the Holy Spirit in us to be what? To be witnesses and to speak on behalf of Jesus. To speak on behalf of God and to say in a very similar way, “Thus says the Lord,” the I Am. You and I, feel this, have been entrusted by God to speak on His behalf. You and I have been entrusted, think about this in light of Exodus 3, by the great I Am, to speak to people around us today on His behalf.
Exodus 5:1 Encourages Sharing the Gospel in Our Spheres of Influence
Where we work, where we live, where we play, in whatever sphere of influence we have, we have been entrusted by God, empowered by God, to speak on His behalf, to say, “Thus says the Lord,” and to share the good news of His love for sinners, to share the good news of how people can be saved from their sin by the grace of God, through faith in Jesus, who died on the cross, who rose from the dead. You and I have been entrusted to speak like this. So God help us to be faithful, to speak your Word today and tomorrow and the next day and the next day.
We pray you’d help us to be faithful witnesses according to your design, according to your plan. God, help us not to be silent with your Word. When entrusted to speak on your behalf, God, help us to speak. And we pray for opportunities in each of our lives. I pray in my life. I pray this over every person listening right now who knows you, Jesus, who’s been filled with your Holy Spirit. We pray for opportunities to share the Gospel today. And God, we pray for boldness to speak on your behalf in those opportunities.
Exodus 5:1 Prays for the Gospel to be Spread to All Peoples
So God, help us not to go day by day. Week by week. Month by month. Even year by year, without speaking to others about the good news of your grace that you have called us to speak to them. God, help us to be active in sharing our faith, not just our faith, sharing the Gospel, the good news of your love.
So God, we pray this for our witness right around us. We pray this for the sake of witness around the world. We pray for the Radi people in India today, zero followers of Jesus among them, none of them confessing Jesus. God, we pray that someone would go, anyone of us included, to the Radi people in India, and God, that your Word would be spoken, that they would hear your Word, and the Radi people would respond and believe your Word.
So God, we pray for the spread of your Word through our lives, through our churches. God, we pray that you would help us to be faithful, to boldly, humbly, compassionately, faithfully speak on your behalf. Your good news of your grace and your love and your salvation.
We pray this in Jesus’ name. Amen.
David Platt serves as a pastor in metro Washington, D.C. He is the founder of Radical.
David received his Ph.D. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and is the author of Don’t Hold Back, Radical, Follow Me, Counter Culture, Something Needs to Change, Before You Vote, as well as the multiple volumes of the Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary series.
Along with his wife and children, he lives in the Washington, D.C. metro area.
