And Pharaoh said, Who is the LORD, that I should obey his voice to let Israel go? I know not the LORD, neither will I let Israel go.
Pharaoh's scorn is madness, he spits at heaven itself. But mark this: devoted to his idols, he thought he was defending piety by mocking the God of Israel as an unknown phantom. His error did not excuse him; it sprang from insane audacity and contempt. All idolaters do the same, intoxicated by their errors, they mock God boldly and never trouble to inquire after Him.
AI summary
Moses and Aaron come to Pharaoh in mortal peril, bearing a message that wounds both his honor and his profit. Yet they speak boldly in God's name: Let My people go. God will own His people, though poor and despicable, and will plead their cause. The Israelites are slaves, yes, but they are His people.
AI summary
Commenting on Exodus 5:1-2
Pharaoh had never heard the name Jehovah before. He knew no superior monarch whose orders bound him, and he reckoned this unknown deity far too insignificant to obey. His ignorance of the Lord's name gave him boldness to refuse, and his refusal was absolute: neither will I let Israel go.
AI summary