Who is the Lord?

And Pharaoh said, "Who is the LORD, that I should obey His voice to let Israel go? I do not know the LORD, nor will I let Israel go." - Exodus 5v2

Pharaoh got exactly what he expected when he went to Pharaoh. ‘The Lord told me to tell you to let His people go!’ I can’t imagine the nerves building up to that, by the way.

Anyway, Pharaoh’s response was clear – ‘Who is the Lord that I should obey Him. I don’t know the Lord, and I won’t let Israel go.’

We are tempted to think that we might never be like Pharaoh, that we are above that. We would NEVER ask a question like that. Or would we?

Pharaoh asked the question in relation to obeying Him. ‘Why should I obey a God I do not know?’ I trust that whether we always obey God or not it is not because we do acknowledge Him, but simply because of our willing disobedience.

My problem comes when it comes to a matter of trusting Him. What happens when I am really challenged to trust God in an especially difficult situation? What happens when He does not act the way that I want Him to?

Even after all these years I still have a problem with me. I have a hard time trusting Him when He does not do it my way. It is getting better, but I still think at times that I have the answer.

I hate to even type this, but am I not saying, like Pharaoh, ‘Who is the Lord?’ Instead of obeying God I might continue with ‘Who is the Lord that I should keep trusting Him? I know how to fix this, why should I trust Him?’

Who is the Lord that Pharaoh should have obeyed him? Who is the Lord that I should trust Him?

The answer is simple enough – He is the Lord.