A Plea to Flea

How often do you say something to lessen the blow, but really mean something much more painful?

Pharaoh continued, "Now they are more numerous than the people of the land and yet you want them to stop working!" That same day Pharaoh commanded the taskmasters of the people, as well as their supervisors, "You shall no longer give the people straw to make bricks, as before; let them go and gather straw for themselves. But you shall require of them the same quantity of bricks as they have made previously; do not diminish it, for they are lazy; that is why they cry, 'Let us go and offer sacrifice to our God.' Let heavier work be laid on them; then they will labor at it and pay no attention to deceptive words." So the taskmasters and the supervisors of the people went out and said to the people, "Thus says Pharaoh, 'I will not give you straw. Go and get straw yourselves, wherever you can find it; but your work will not be lessened in the least.' " - Exodus 5:5-11

In the reading today, Moses confronts Pharaoh asking for three days when the people could go out and worship their God.

Pharaoh doesn't fall for the trap.  He accuses them of wanting time off because they are lazy and want to get out of work.  So he makes the work harder.

It all seems like a slight deception to me.  Everyone knows something is up.

Moses knows God wants them to leave, not just for three days, but for good.  Pharaoh knows there is an ulterior motive, that this people which has grown quite large, has the power to slow down production.  He needs to prevent a walkout.

Finally, God knows Pharaoh isn't going to listen to Moses, or so it seems.

So, what looks like an issue of faith, of a people wanting to worship their God, is more an act of sedition, a plea to flea.

How often do we color our reasoning to sway opinion in our direction?  Clearly it would have gone no better to have been totally honest.  Our Lord wants us to leave this place and stop working for you.
That wouldn't have been a good conversation.  But it would have been honest.

Moses realizes he has blown it and he goes back to God to complain.

Then Moses turned again to the LORD and said, "O LORD, why have you mistreated this people? Why did you ever send me? Since I first came to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has mistreated this people, and you have done nothing at all to deliver your people."

This wasn't the right strategy, he tells God.  You screwed up.

So, the question is this.  Was God looking to test Pharaoh or deceive him?

Looking at how this negotiation played out, there is no wonder in my mind why we continually fail to negotiate good deals with our enemies.  There is no trust - on either side.

Perhaps there was truly no common ground on which to stand, and what comes next was inevitable, and that is a sad thing.  If this is our lesson, how will we find peace in the world?

As Walter Scott wrote, "O what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive!"

More to come...