Exodus 5:7 - "You shall no longer give the people straw to make bricks, as heretofore; let them go and gather straw for themselves."

Exodus 5:16 - "No straw is given to your servants, yet they say to us; ‘Make bricks!’ "

We take bricks so much for granted in our modern world - we live in brick houses, we have brick patios and barbecue pits - that we seldom stop to think about them. In fact, I would seriously wonder if many of you would be really aware of the impact that is implicit in our text. The Pharaoh needed bricks, no doubt about that, with all the building projects he had going on. And, as slaves, the Hebrews had to make those bricks. But, suddenly, their supply of straw was cut off, and they couldn’t continue to make their bricks until they got more straw. Well, so what? What’s t…