This is the place for devotions, am I right? Here goes:

Exodus 5 Stubble instead of Straw

“So the people were scattered abroad throughout all the land of Egypt to gather stubble instead of straw” (v.12)

The Egyptians were tyrannical taskmasters, and their desire to make things hard for Israel actually weakened their own cause more than they ever seemed to think it would. When wickedness seeks to hinder righteousness, it always hurts itself in the long-run. In this chapter, we see that they were so eager to persecute the Israelites, that they “cut their own throats” so to speak. You see, straw was necessary in the blocks for strengthening them, it gave the mortar stability; when stubble was substituted for straw, they settled for the weak and beggarly instead of the good and right. This world does that with Christians today, they give us “stubble” with which to build our lives, and we end with a powerless, and failing life. We need the “straw” of God for the building blocks of our lives, and not this worlds’ stubble. Yes, when we run to the world for comfort, or counsel, we are asking for stubble, but if we will trust in the Lord, and seek His face, we will find a “more abundant” life, a life of stability, with the strength of the straw.

This reminds me of my childhood days; I had a friend who, when he was angry at others, would actually hurt himself to “get back at them”. It seemed foolish then, and seems foolish still, but that seems to be the way of the world. Egypt symbolizes the world in the Bible, and we see a classic case of the foolishness of this world in this chapter. Though Pharaoh thought himself to be a god, his wisdom was turned to foolishness. The question for each of us though is, with what are we building our lives, with stubble, or straw? Stubble is the waste, the left over, after the wheat or barley is harvested. It is the “stems” and the roots, the unwanted part, good for nothing but to cast into the fire, and yet, it had become a precious commodity to produce the same tally of bricks. Oh the futility of this world with their demands and schemes and their ungodly philosophies, will we seek their stubble, or seek the straw that God provides in His Word? Israel had no choice, but we do, what will it be for you?