And Moses said, Thou must give us also sacrifices and burnt offerings, that we may sacrifice unto the LORD our God.
Pharaoh offered to let Israel go to serve the Lord while leaving the flocks and herds behind, and Moses rejected the compromise and insisted that every animal go with them with not a hoof left behind. He demanded the opposite of keeping the cattle, that Pharaoh himself must give Israel sacrifices and burnt offerings for sacrifice to the Lord. Israel's departure was for service to God and worship of the Lord, not merely escape from bondage, so permission to leave was not enough if the cattle were kept and Pharaoh could not set aside the requirement for sacrifices while deciding who might go.
The livestock had to go because Israel must take from its own animals to sacrifice and serve the Lord. Nothing could be left behind because Israel did not yet know what would be required for worship until it arrived at the place of sacrifice. Pharaoh yielded very slowly and only as much as dreadful judgments compelled, granting a little under grievous affliction and taking it back when the affliction was removed, with concessions that remained partial: first sacrifice in the land of Egypt, then the men alone going, then the wives and children going also but the cattle withheld.
This rejection came after the plague of locusts had nearly destroyed Egypt, while Pharaoh still persisted in rebellion even after Egypt was ruined, and Moses then told the king that the angel of God would slay the firstborn. The verse belongs to the time of darkness over Egypt that was not merely loss of light but a very oppressive atmosphere that made breathing difficult, while the Hebrews had light in their dwellings and a pure atmosphere. After this came one more dreadful plague more severe than any before it, whose nature and effect Moses related to Pharaoh and to the Egyptians and to the Israelites, and on that terrible night to the Egyptians and glorious night to God's people the solemn ordinance of the passover was instituted.
In another account the stand over leaving every head of cattle and every sheep behind continued until Pharaoh had to consent when, after the death of the firstborn, he told Israel to go quickly, showing how hard the deliverance was and that it required the destruction of the whole prosperity of Egypt to get them out. Moses spoke this demand in the king's presence with firm courage that annoyed Pharaoh's haughty pride, elevated above fear by firm trust in God after witnessing God's wonderful works, with faith grown strong and confidence unshaken as God fitted him to stand at the head of Israel and lead them from Egypt. Pharaoh's hardening and threat to kill Moses if he appeared again showed blindness to the fact that he was contending not only against Moses and Aaron but against Jehovah the Maker of heaven and earth, while Moses was protected because the favor he had obtained with the people meant the king would not dare harm him. The request was opposed to the last by the king and his idolatrous priests, while the Egyptian people desired that the Hebrews be permitted to leave Egypt.
Pharaoh offered to let Israel go to serve the Lord while leaving the flocks and herds behind, and Moses rejected the compromise and insisted that every animal go with them with not a hoof left behind. He demanded the opposite of keeping the cattle, that Pharaoh himself must give Israel sacrifices and burnt offerings for sacrifice to the Lord. Israel's departure was for service to God and worship of the Lord, not merely escape from bondage, so permission to leave was not enough if the cattle were kept and Pharaoh could not set aside the requirement for sacrifices while deciding who might go.
The livestock had to go because Israel must take from its own animals to sacrifice and serve the Lord. Nothing could be left behind because Israel did not yet know what would be required for worship until it arrived at the place of sacrifice. Pharaoh yielded very slowly and only as much as dreadful judgments compelled, granting a little under grievous affliction and taking it back when the affliction was removed, with concessions that remained partial: first sacrifice in the land of Egypt, then the men alone going, then the wives and children going also but the cattle withheld.
This rejection came after the plague of locusts had nearly destroyed Egypt, while Pharaoh still persisted in rebellion even after Egypt was ruined, and Moses then told the king that the angel of God would slay the firstborn. The verse belongs to the time of darkness over Egypt that was not merely loss of light but a very oppressive atmosphere that made breathing difficult, while the Hebrews had light in their dwellings and a pure atmosphere. After this came one more dreadful plague more severe than any before it, whose nature and effect Moses related to Pharaoh and to the Egyptians and to the Israelites, and on that terrible night to the Egyptians and glorious night to God's people the solemn ordinance of the passover was instituted.
In another account the stand over leaving every head of cattle and every sheep behind continued until Pharaoh had to consent when, after the death of the firstborn, he told Israel to go quickly, showing how hard the deliverance was and that it required the destruction of the whole prosperity of Egypt to get them out. Moses spoke this demand in the king's presence with firm courage that annoyed Pharaoh's haughty pride, elevated above fear by firm trust in God after witnessing God's wonderful works, with faith grown strong and confidence unshaken as God fitted him to stand at the head of Israel and lead them from Egypt. Pharaoh's hardening and threat to kill Moses if he appeared again showed blindness to the fact that he was contending not only against Moses and Aaron but against Jehovah the Maker of heaven and earth, while Moses was protected because the favor he had obtained with the people meant the king would not dare harm him. The request was opposed to the last by the king and his idolatrous priests, while the Egyptian people desired that the Hebrews be permitted to leave Egypt.