Exodus 5:16 Kommentar

Moses and Aaron are here dealing with Pharaoh, to get leave of him to go and worship in the wilderness. I. They demand leave in the name of God (Exo 5:1), and he answers their demand with a defiance of God (Exo 5:2). II. They beg leave in the name of Israel (Exo 5:3), and he answers their request with further orders to oppress Israel (Exo 5:4-9). These cruel orders were, 1. Executed by the task-masters (Exo 5:10-14). 2. Complained of to Pharaoh, but in vain (Exo 5:15-19). 3. Complained of by the people to Moses (Exo 5:20, Exo 5:21), and by him to God (Exo 5:22, Exo 5:23).

INTRODUCTION TO EXODUS 5 Moses and Aaron go in to Pharaoh, and desire leave for the children of Israel to go into the wilderness three days' journey, to sacrifice to the Lord, and are answered in a very churlish and atheistical manner, and are charged with making the people idle, the consequence of which was, the taskmasters had orders, to make their work more heavy and toilsome, Exo 5:1 which orders were executed with severity by them, Exo 5:10, upon which the officers of the children of Israel complained to Pharaoh, but to no purpose, Exo 5:14, and meeting with Moses and Aaron, lay the blame upon them, Exo 5:20, which sends Moses to the Lord to expostulate with him about it, Exo 5:22.

There is no straw given unto thy servants,.... As used to be, which they supposed Pharaoh knew nothing of, and by which it appears that the order given by Pharaoh, Exo 5:6 was not given in the hearing of the officers, only to the taskmasters, and by them to be made known to the officers, though indeed both are there mentioned, and both represent this to the people, Exo 5:10. and they say to us, make brick, though they had no straw to make or burn it with: and, behold, thy servants are beaten; because the same number of bricks is not made as heretofore, but the fault is in thine own people; the taskmasters, who sent the people abroad to get straw or stubble themselves, and therefore could not make the same bricks as before; or "thy people sin" (n), the guilt is theirs: or by thy people are meant the Israelites, whom they call Pharaoh's people to gain favour with him; and then the sense is, either "sin" is imputed "to thy people" (o), the blame is laid upon them, or punishment is inflicted on them without cause, sin being often put for punishment; they are wrongfully charged with a fault, and wrongfully punished. (n) "et peccat populus tuns", Montanus, Drusius, Cartwright. (o) So Vatablus, Piscator, and some in Munster, Pagninus.

Moses and Aaron open their commission to Pharaoh, Exo 5:1. He insultingly asks who Jehovah is, in whose name they require him to dismiss the people, Exo 5:2. They explain, Exo 5:3. He charges them with making the people disaffected, Exo 5:4, Exo 5:5; and commands the task-masters to increase their work, and lessen their means of performing it, Exo 5:6-9. The task-masters do as commanded, and refuse to give the people straw to assist them in making brick, and yet require the fulfillment of their daily tasks as formerly, when furnished with all the necessary means, Exo 5:10-13. The Israelites failing to produce the ordinary quantity of brick, their own officers, set over them by the task-masters, are cruelly insulted and beaten, Exo 5:14. The officers complain to Pharaoh, Exo 5:15, Exo 5:16; but find no redress, Exo 5:17, Exo 5:18. The officers, finding their case desperate, bitterly reproach Moses and Aaron for bringing them into their present circumstances, Exo 5:19-21. Moses retires, and lays the matter before the Lord, and pleads with him, Exo 5:22, Exo 5:23.

The fault is in thine own people - חטאת chatath, the sin, is in thy own people. 1st. Because they require impossibilities; and 2dly, because they punish us for not doing what cannot be performed.

FIRST INTERVIEW WITH PHARAOH. (Exo. 5:1-23) Moses and Aaron went in--As representatives of the Hebrews, they were entitled to ask an audience of the king, and their thorough Egyptian training taught them how and when to seek it. and told Pharaoh--When introduced, they delivered a message in the name of the God of Israel. This is the first time He is mentioned by that national appellation in Scripture. It seems to have been used by divine direction (Exo 4:2) and designed to put honor on the Hebrews in their depressed condition (Heb 11:16).

Moses and Aaron Sent to Pharaoh - Exodus 5-7:7 The two events which form the contents of this section - viz., (1) the visit of Moses and Aaron to Pharaoh to make known the commands of their God, with the harsh refusal of their request on the part of Pharaoh, by an increase of the tributary labours of Israel (Exo 5); and (2) the further revelations of Jehovah to Moses, with the insertion of the genealogies of Moses and Aaron-not only hang closely together so far as the subject-matter is concerned, inasmuch as the fresh declarations of Jehovah to Moses were occasioned by the complaint of Moses that his first attempt had so signally failed, but both of them belong to the complete equipment of Moses for his divine mission. Their visit to Pharaoh was only preliminary in its character. Moses and Aaron simply made known to the king the will of their God, without accrediting themselves by miraculous signs as the messengers of Jehovah, or laying any particular emphasis upon His demand. For this first step was only intended to enlighten Moses as to the attitude of Pharaoh and the people of Israel in relation to the work of God, which He was about to perform. Pharaoh answered the demand addressed to him, that he would let the people go for a few days to hold a sacrificial festival in the desert, by increasing their labours; and the Israelites complained in consequence that their good name had been made abhorrent to the king, and their situation made worse than it was. Moses might have despaired on this account; but he laid his trouble before the Lord, and the Lord filled his despondent heart with fresh courage through the renewed and strengthened promise that He would now for the first time display His name Jehovah perfectly - that He would redeem the children of Israel with outstretched arm and with great judgments - would harden Pharaoh's heart, and do many signs and wonders in the land of Egypt, that the Egyptians might learn through the deliverance of Israel that He was Jehovah, i.e., the absolute God, who works with unlimited freedom. At the same time God removed the difficulty which once more arose in the mind of Moses, namely, that Pharaoh would not listen to him because of his want of oratorical power, by the assurance, "I make thee a god for Pharaoh, and Aaron shall be thy prophet" (Exo 7:1), which could not fail to remove all doubt as to his own incompetency for so great and severe a task. With this promise Pharaoh was completely given up into Moses' power, and Moses invested with all the plenipotentiary authority that was requisite for the performance of the work entrusted to him.