Pharaoh, true to Moses's prediction, immediately reneged on his promise to let the Israelites go.
And what did Moses do? He didn't waste a second. He promptly announced the eighth plague: a swarm of locusts. Interestingly, Moses, ever the savvy leader, noticed his words actually did have an effect on Pharaoh's advisors. So he stepped back, giving them a chance to talk amongst themselves.
Think about that for a moment. Moses knew when to press and when to give space. It’s a lesson in leadership we can still apply today.
And guess what? Pharaoh's servants did urge him to let the Israelites go and serve the Lord their God. They saw the devastation, the writing on the wall, so to speak. But Pharaoh, stubborn as ever, wasn’t having it.
The sticking point? Moses insisted that everyone had to go: the young, the old, sons, and daughters. And this is where Pharaoh drew the line. He said, "Okay, old men, young men... I get that. But little children? That's suspicious. You're clearly not planning to come back. This whole three-day journey thing is a sham."
According to Ginzberg's retelling in Legends of the Jews, Pharaoh essentially accused them of planning a permanent escape.
Then came the kicker. Pharaoh declared, "My god Baal-zephon will oppose you on your way and hinder your journey!" Baal-zephon, you see, was a deity associated with the sea and navigation, often depicted as a protector of sailors.
But there’s more to that statement than just defiance. Pharaoh's last words, Ginzberg notes, were a "dim presentiment." As a magician, he foresaw that the Israelites would find themselves in desperate straits before the sanctuary of Baal-zephon as they fled Egypt. A chilling prediction of the challenges to come.
What does this episode tell us? It's a reminder that even in the face of overwhelming odds, freedom isn’t easily won. There are always obstacles, unexpected turns, and moments when it feels like everything is about to fall apart. Pharaoh's resistance, fueled by his fear and pride, foreshadows the trials that await the Israelites on their journey to liberation. And perhaps, it mirrors the challenges we face in our own journeys toward freedom, whatever that may look like for each of us.