Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said, “Thus says the LORD God of Israel: ‘Let My people go, that they may hold a feast to Me in the wilderness.’ ” Pharaoh answered, “Who is the LORD, that I should obey His voice to let Israel go? I do not know the LORD, nor will I let Israel go.” The rest of the story is God's answer to Pharaoh's question.
Instead of freedom, things got worse. Pharaoh stopped giving straw for the bricks but demanded the same number. The Hebrew officers were beaten, and they blamed Moses. Moses took his pain to God: “Lord, why have You brought trouble on this people? Why is it You have sent me?” Obedience does not always bring immediate relief; sometimes the darkest hour comes just before deliverance.
God answered with promises. “I am the LORD; I will bring you out… I will rescue you… I will redeem you… I will take you as My people, and I will be your God.” He reminded Moses that He had made a covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and would give them the land. The people did not listen “because of anguish of spirit and cruel bondage,” but God's word did not depend on their feelings.
Moses was now eighty years old and Aaron eighty-three when they stood again before Pharaoh. Aaron cast down his rod and it became a serpent. Pharaoh's magicians did the same with their enchantments, “but Aaron's rod swallowed up their rods.” Even so, Pharaoh's heart grew hard. God had said, “the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD.” The contest between the LORD and the gods of Egypt had begun.