Moses confronts Pharaoh for the first time: Exodus 5–7

Forcing slaves to making bricks, making it harder to make bricks, yelling and screaming when the brickmakers beg for mercy? All in a day’s work for Pharoah.

Moses’ request to “Let my people go”, for only three days, got the following answer from Pharoah:

^{Exodus 5:2} And who is the Lord? Why should I listen to him and let Israel go? I don’t know the Lord, and I will not let Israel go.

The Israelites blamed Moses and Aaron for the worsening conditions, but left it to God to punish them accordingly:

^{Exodus 5:21} The foremen said to them, ‘May the Lord judge and punish you for making us stink before Pharaoh and his officials. You have put a sword into their hands, an excuse to kill us!’

The Israelites stopped listening to Moses and Aaron after this.

In sending Moses back to Pharoah, God instructs him to show the first of the miracles, with an unfortunate response:

^{Exodus 7:13} Pharaoh’s heart, however, remained hard. He still refused to listen, just as the Lord had predicted.