The LORD purposely kept the demand for Pharaoh’s obedience low so that Israel’s exodus would be all the more glorious whenever God used the hard-hearted Pharaoh to accomplish it. In other words, the LORD did not want to merely rip the Israelites out of Pharaoh’s obstinate hands (although He certainly could have!); instead, He wanted to so thoroughly dismantle the king of Egypt that he would not only consent to God’s will but would accomplish God’s will.

But the LORD said to Moses, “Now you shall see what I will do to Pharaoh; for with a strong hand he will send them out, and with a strong hand he will drive them out of his land.”

Exodus 6:1 ESV

This word of Yahweh to Moses came in response to Moses’ lament at the end of chapter 5. At the beginning of that chapter, Moses had worked up the courage to do as God commanded, declaring God’s message to Pharaoh. Yet the Egyptian king scoffed at both Yahweh and His decree, then he issued a command that made Israel’s slavery even harder. After this, the Israelites complained to Moses, and Exodus 5 ends with Moses’ prayer:

Then Moses turned to the LORD and said, “O Lord, why have you done evil to this people? Why did you ever send me? For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has done evil to this people, and you have not delivered your people at all.”

EXODUS 5:22–23

Notice that Moses’ complaint was that God had done evil to the people of Israel by allowing the evil of Pharaoh and by not delivering them at all. As with Job, we should note that God did not answer Moses’ why questions; He did, however, answer Moses’ complaint of God’s inaction, saying that Moses was about to see with his own eyes the great wrath that He was about to bring upon Pharaoh.

What effect would God’s judgment upon Pharaoh have? Pharaoh himself would drive the people of Israel out of Egypt. Indeed, notice that God emphasizes that point by repeating it: for with a strong hand he will send them out, and with a strong hand he will drive them out of his land. When reading the Bible, we should remember that repetition means pay attention.

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