“The God of the Hebrews has met with us,” they answered. “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.”
Faith tramples upon everything that exalts itself on earth, and the truth of God surpasses all human greatness. By declaring that their God is the Protector of their nation and has manifested Himself to them, Moses and Aaron refute Pharaoh's impious "I know not the Lord." His refusal to let them worship will bring him no safety; if God takes vengeance on His people held back from His service, how much more on the man who enters into open contention with God?
AI summary
Their request is humble and reasonable: only three days to journey into the desert and sacrifice to their God, a common practice among nations. They give Pharaoh the warning that neglecting God's worship will bring judgment upon Israel, and he will lose his laborers. Yet he denies them and falsely charges them with idleness, slandering the servants of God as idle and their words as vain, so he might increase their burdens.
AI summary
Commenting on Exodus 5:3-9
Since Pharaoh scorned the name Jehovah, they speak only of the God of the Hebrews, a God he knew dwelt among his subjects. This God had met and called them, not the other way around. Their request is modest and unthreatening: three days only, into the wilderness far from his cities, to perform sacrifices that are essential to religion itself. If they neglect this duty, God will strike them with pestilence or the sword.
AI summary