When Moses and Aaron began their work in Egypt, their first problem was with Pharaoh (5:1–9). Not only did Pharaoh refuse to let the people leave Egypt but he made their work more difficult. That gave Moses a second problem—his own people, who blamed him for their plight (5:20–21). He had a foretaste of the criticism and rebellion he would experience for the next forty years. Often, the people you help the most will appreciate you the least. Moses’ third problem was with the Lord Himself (5:22–23)! God had promised success but Moses had failed. Even the Jews didn’t believe him!
当摩西和亚伦在埃及开始了他们的工作时，他们遇到的第一个问题就是法老（5:1-9）。法老不但拒绝让犹太人离开埃及，还加重了他们的工作量。这给摩西带来第二个问题，即自己的族人，因他们责怪摩西使他们的处境更糟糕（5:20-21）。他事先尝到了他在未来40年所要经历的——族人的指责和反抗。这也难怪，因为你所给予最多帮助的人，往往就是最忘恩的。摩西的第三个问题就是主本身！（5:22-23）神应许摩西会成功，但他却失败了。就连犹太人也不相信他！
But God gave Moses the assurance that He needed (6:1–8) and told him to return to his job and stay with it. God doesn’t solve every problem immediately, nor does He follow your schedule. When you think you have failed, even when you have obeyed God’s will, ponder on Isaiah 55:8–9 and Jeremiah 29:11.
但神给予摩西他需要的保证（6:1-8）并要他回到岗位上坚持下去。神并不会立即解决你的每一个问题，也不会按照你的时间表行事。当你认为你已听从神的旨意了却仍失败，请思考以赛亚书 55:8-9 和耶利米书 29:11 的话。
Praying the Scripture 用经文祷告
- The Egyptians were the most polytheistic people known from the ancient world. Even today, the historians and archeologists are not completely sure the total number of gods they worship. However, most lists include somewhere in the neighborhood of 80 gods including lion, ox, ram, wolf, dog, cat, cobra, frog, locust and other insects. They will have no problem adding one more god to their collection. So when Pharaoh said, “Who is the LORD, that I should obey his voice (Ex 5:2), he is despising the Lord “God of the slave.” So when the Lord sent the ten plagues to judge and destroy the idols/gods of Egyptians (Ex 12:12) He is showing them who the God of this universe is. Ultimately the Egyptians will know the LORD and worship Him (Isa 19:21). Do you have idols in your hearts? The Lord will destroy them one by one.
埃及人是古代世界拥有最多神的民族。即使在今日，历史学家和考古学家估计他们所崇拜的偶像不少于80个，包括狮子、牛、羊、狼、狗、猫、眼镜蛇、青蛙、蝗虫和其他昆虫；要再添加一个偶像，肯定没问题。所以，法老说：“耶和华是谁，使我听他的话”（出5:2），他是在藐视这位“奴隶的神”耶和华。因此，当主降下十灾来审判和摧毁埃及人的神或偶像时（出12:12），祂是在告诉他们这宇宙间的神到底是谁。最终，埃及人会认识耶和华并敬拜祂（赛19:21）。你的心中是否有偶像呢？耶和华必将它们一一毁掉。
- Not only the Pharaoh did not know God, Moses and the Israelite also did not truly know him (3:11; 6:3, 7). Do you know the Lord is the mighty great “I AM”? Furthermore, He is the merciful, compassionate and faithful God? Can you list out all the verses that indicate the attribute of God in these beginning chapters of Exodus? Let’s pray that we know God and know him well.
不认识神的不仅仅是法老，摩西和以色列人也未真正认识祂（3:11；6:3,7）。你是否知道主是那伟大的“我是”？此外，祂也是一位怜悯、慈爱和信实的神呢？你是否能从出埃及记前面几章的经节找出所有表明神属性的经文呢？让我们祷告，叫我们认识神，并彻底地认识祂。
