Pharaoh refuses, and the burden grows

5:1 Afterward Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘Release my people so that they may hold a pilgrim feast to me in the desert.’” 5:2 But Pharaoh said, “Who is the Lord that I should obey him by releasing Israel? I do not know the Lord, and I will not release Israel!” 5:3 And they said, “The God of the Hebrews has met with us. Let us go a three-day journey into the desert so that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God, so that he does not strike us with plague or the sword.” 5:4 The king of Egypt said to them, “Moses and Aaron, why do you cause the people to refrain from their work? Return to your labor!” 5:5 Pharaoh was thinking, “The people of the land are now many, and you are giving them rest from their labor.” 5:6 That same day Pharaoh commanded the slave masters and foremen who were over the people: 5:7 “You must no longer give straw to the people for making bricks as before. Let them go and collect straw for themselves. 5:8 But you must require of them the same quota of bricks that they were making before. Do not reduce it, for they are slackers. That is why they are crying, ‘Let us go sacrifice to our God.’ 5:9 Make the work harder for the men so they will keep at it and pay no attention to lying words!” 5:10 So the slave masters of the people and their foremen went to the Israelites and said, “Thus says Pharaoh: ‘I am not giving you straw. 5:11 You go get straw for yourselves wherever you can find it, because there will be no reduction at all in your workload.’” 5:12 So the people spread out through all the land of Egypt to collect stubble for straw. 5:13 The slave masters were pressuring them, saying, “Complete your work for each day, just like when there was straw!” 5:14 The Israelite foremen whom Pharaoh’s slave masters had set over them were beaten and were asked, “Why did you not complete your requirement for brickmaking as in the past – both yesterday and today?” 5:15 The Israelite foremen went and cried out to Pharaoh, “Why are you treating your servants this way? 5:16 No straw is given to your servants, but we are told, ‘Make bricks!’ Your servants are even being beaten, but the fault is with your people.” 5:17 But Pharaoh replied, “You are slackers! Slackers! That is why you are saying, ‘Let us go sacrifice to the Lord.’ 5:18 So now, get back to work! You will not be given straw, but you must still produce your quota of bricks!” 5:19 The Israelite foremen saw that they were in trouble when they were told, “You must not reduce the daily quota of your bricks.” 5:20 When they went out from Pharaoh, they encountered Moses and Aaron standing there to meet them, 5:21 and they said to them, “May the Lord look on you and judge, because you have made us stink in the opinion of Pharaoh and his servants, so that you have given them an excuse to kill us!” 5:22 Moses returned to the Lord, and said, “Lord, why have you caused trouble for this people? Why did you ever send me? 5:23 From the time I went to speak to Pharaoh in your name, he has caused trouble for this people, and you have certainly not rescued them!”

Scripture quoted by permission. Quotations designated (NET) are from the NET Bible®, copyright ©1996, 2019 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. All rights reserved.

Moses and Aaron ask Pharaoh to let Israel go so they can worship the Lord. Pharaoh refuses to know the Lord and makes Israel’s work harder. The people suffer, and Moses brings his complaint to the Lord.

Moses and Aaron speak with the word of the Lord. They ask Pharaoh to let God’s people go so they can worship him in the wilderness. Pharaoh rejects the command. He says he does not know the Lord and will not let Israel go.

Pharaoh then treats the request as laziness. He makes the slaves gather their own straw while still requiring the same number of bricks. This turns their labor into cruel oppression. The Israelite foremen are beaten. The people scatter to find stubble. Pharaoh will not lessen the burden.

When the foremen see their trouble, they blame Moses and Aaron. They fear that Pharaoh now has an excuse to kill them. Moses then goes back to the Lord and complains. He asks why God brought trouble on this people and why he was sent. He does not yet see deliverance. The passage shows that obedience may first bring harder suffering, and that God’s people must bring their grief to him.

• The Lord, not Pharaoh, has the right to command his people.
• Pharaoh’s refusal is a refusal to recognize the Lord.
• Worship of the Lord is not treated by Pharaoh as obedience, but as a threat to his control.
• Pharaoh makes the labor harder by removing straw but keeping the same brick quota.
• The people suffer real oppression, including pressure and beating.
• God’s servants may face greater hardship before deliverance comes.
• Moses honestly brings his complaint to the Lord.

• Warning: hardening the heart against the Lord leads to deeper sin and cruelty.
• Warning: power used to crush worship and increase oppression stands under God’s judgment.
• Command: let the Lord’s people go so they may worship him.
• Command: bring honest complaint and grief to the Lord.
• Promise: God’s saving purpose is not stopped by Pharaoh’s refusal, even when it is not yet visible.

This passage begins the public conflict that will lead to Israel’s redemption from Egypt. It belongs to the history of God’s covenant people and prepares for the Lord’s later rescue and covenant making with Israel. It also fits the larger Bible pattern that salvation often comes after conflict and suffering.

Believers should not assume that obedience will bring quick success. Sometimes doing what God says leads to more pressure first. This passage teaches us to keep trusting the Lord, to bring our questions to him, and to remember that he rules even when earthly power seems stronger. It also warns rulers and all who have authority not to use power against worship or to deepen suffering.

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