Saturday 29th August 2026
Let My People Go
Exodus 5:1-9
Afterward Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Let my people go, so that they may hold a festival to me in the wilderness.’” Pharaoh said, “Who is the Lord, that I should obey him and let Israel go? I do not know the Lord and I will not let Israel go.” Then they said, “The God of the Hebrews has met with us. Now let us take a three-day journey into the wilderness to offer sacrifices to the Lord our God, or he may strike us with plagues or with the sword.” But the king of Egypt said, “Moses and Aaron, why are you taking the people away from their labor? Get back to your work!” Then Pharaoh said, “Look, the people of the land are now numerous, and you are stopping them from working.” That same day Pharaoh gave this order to the slave drivers and overseers in charge of the people: “You are no longer to supply the people with straw for making bricks; let them go and gather their own straw. But require them to make the same number of bricks as before; don’t reduce the quota. They are lazy; that is why they are crying out, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to our God.’ Make the work harder for the people so that they keep working and pay no attention to lies.”
Reflection
I woke this morning with a song in my head – ‘When Israel was in Egypt’s Land’. I looked up today’s text…and isn’t it scary? If we change the names to some we recognise today…swap the countries for some which keep appearing in modern-day news – how similar the story is from yesteryear to today. There seem to be so many parallels…and it makes me wonder: How have we not been able to get it together by now?!
Why is there always some ‘one’ (whether it be an individual or a collective entity) who deems their way to be the only and correct way? (Also – why is it always a man?!? No offence men, but maybe it’s time to consider letting the ladies take the lead…)
Anyway – back to the passage… Sadly, this story very much reminds me of the current situation facing ‘immigrant communities’ in the western world. While they may not be held as slaves, as such, they are enslaved by the title of ‘immigrant’ – and other labels which dehumanise. The rhetoric surrounding ‘illegal aliens’ has conjured an otherness that I would not have thought possible in this day and age. While held captive by these labels, people are prevented from progressing in what they had hoped would be their new ‘home’, working hard but achieving little for themselves, and called lazy when the rules bar them from working or leave them dependent on the State. They are lied to – with the illusion of coming to a new land to make better lives for themselves – and only seen as useful when their efforts benefit ‘the one’. Often, they work to produce t inhe ‘quotas’ on which the ‘the one’ depends, doing jobs which the local workforce doesn’t want. And increasingly, it feels like even the assistance that has been available in the past is being taken away – ‘Let them gather their own straw!’
So, I find myself thinking on the words of the song… “Tell old, Pharaoh…LET MY PEOPLE GO!”
Prayer
Dear Lord,
What is happening?
What has happened to Your people?
Where is our compassion?
Our understanding?
Help us all to hold each other close…
and help us to let all your people go.
Help us to remember You.
In your mercy, please help!
Amen.