Moses and the Pharaoh: Book of Exodus (Part 4)

As the Lord God had commanded, Moses and Aaron returned to Egypt and called together all the elders of Israel, and Aaron relayed everything the Lord had said to Moses, while Moses performed the signs before the people. And the people believed, and when they heard that the Lord was concerned about them and had seen their misery, they bowed down and worshipped. Then Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said to him, The Lord, the God of Israel, says, Let my people go, so that they may hold a feast to me in the wilderness. But Pharaoh replied, Is that so? Who is the Lord that I should obey his voice and let Israel go? I do not know the Lord, and I will not let Israel go. And the men said to him, The God of the Hebrews has met with us. Please let us go on a three-day journey into the wilderness to sacrifice to the Lord our God, or he may strike us with plagues or with the sword. But the king of Egypt said to them, Moses and Aaron, why do you draw the people away from their work? Get back to your labor. Behold, the people of the land are now many, and you make them rest from their burdens. That same day, Pharaoh commanded the taskmasters of the people of Israel and their foremen, saying, You shall no longer supply the people with straw for making bricks. They must go and gather their own straw, but require of them the same quota of bricks as before. Do not reduce it, for they are lazy. That is why they are crying out. Let us go and sacrifice to our God. Make the work harder on the men, so they will be occupied and pay no attention to these lies. So the taskmasters and foremen went out and told the Israelites what Pharaoh had commanded, that the Egyptians would no longer provide them with straw, that they were to go and get their own straw wherever they could find it, but their workload would in no way be reduced. So the people of Israel scattered all over Egypt to gather stubble to use for straw, and the taskmasters kept pressing them, saying, Complete the work required of you for each day, just as when you had straw. Then they whipped the Israelite foreman they had put in charge of the work crews, yelling at them, Why haven't you met your quotas either yesterday or today? Thus the Israelite foreman went and appealed to Pharaoh, Why are you treating your servants this way? Your servants are given no straw, yet we are told, Make bricks. Your servants are being beaten, but the fault is with your own people. And Pharaoh said to them, Lazy, that's what you are. Lazy. That is why you keep saying, Let us go and sacrifice to the Lord. Now get to work. You will not be given any straw, yet you must produce your full quota of bricks. The Israelite foreman realized they were in trouble when they were told that they must not reduce their daily quota of bricks. And so when they left Pharaoh, they confronted Moses and Aaron, who stood waiting to meet them. And they said to them, May the Lord look on you and judge, because you have made us stink in the sight of Pharaoh and his servants, and have put a sword in their hand to kill us. Hearing this, Moses returned to the Lord and asked, Lord, why have you brought trouble upon this people? Is this why you sent me? Ever since I went to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has brought trouble on this people, and you have not delivered your people in any way. And the Lord said to Moses, Now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh, for because of my mighty hand he will let the people go, and because of my strong hand he will drive them out of his land. Therefore tell the Israelites not to despair, for I will bring them out from under the yoke of the Egyptians and deliver them from their bondage. I will redeem them with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment. I will take them as my own people, and I will be their God, and I will give them possession of the land that I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Then they will know that I am the Lord. Moses relayed this message to the people of Israel, but they did not listen to him because of the harsh slavery which had broken their spirit. Then the Lord said to Moses, Go back to Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, and again tell him to let the Israelites go out of his land. But Moses said to the Lord, If the Israelites will not listen to me, why would Pharaoh listen to me, especially when I am unskilled in speech? And the Lord answered Moses, You are to speak all that I command you, and your brother Aaron is to tell Pharaoh to let the Israelites go out of his land. But I will harden Pharaoh's heart, so that I may multiply my signs and wonders in the land of Egypt. Pharaoh will not listen to you, so that I may bring down my fist upon Egypt and deliver my people by mighty acts of judgment, and the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord. Pharaoh shall say to you, Prove yourselves by working a miracle, and when he does, you shall tell Aaron to take his staff and cast it down before Pharaoh, and it will become a serpent. Thus Moses and Aaron set out to do as the Lord had commanded them. Moses was eighty years old at this time, while Aaron was eighty-three. And as the Lord had revealed, Pharaoh indeed demanded a miracle. And so Aaron threw his staff down in front of Pharaoh and his officials, and it became a snake. Pharaoh then summoned his wise men and sorcerers, and the Egyptian magicians also did the same things by their magic arts. For each one threw down his staff, and it became a snake. And then Aaron's staff swallowed up their staffs. Alas, Pharaoh's heart remained as hard as ever, for he would not listen to them, just as the Lord had said.