Exodus 5:10 - Meaning and Application

Pharaoh’s orders were now carried out. Straw was denied, but the work was not reduced. The Egyptian taskmasters were very harsh. Pharaoh had issued unjust orders, and they were eager to enforce the cruelty he had planned, as in Isaiah 10:1.

Cruel rulers never lack cruel agents under them. Those agents will defend what is most unreasonable. The taskmasters still demanded the full daily quota, just as before when straw was supplied (Exodus 5:13). This shows why we should pray to be delivered from unreasonable and wicked people (2 Thessalonians 3:2). The hatred between the serpent’s offspring and the woman’s offspring is so deep that it breaks through reason, honor, common decency, and justice.

The people were scattered all through Egypt to gather stubble (Exodus 5:12). In this way, Pharaoh’s unfair and brutal treatment of them became known throughout the kingdom. It may even have made their neighbors pity them and made Pharaoh’s rule less welcome to his own people. Persecution never wins real goodwill.

The Israelite officers were treated with special severity (Exodus 5:14). These men, who were leaders in Israel’s households, paid dearly for their position. The demand was made directly on them, and they were beaten when the work was not done. This reminds us how miserable slavery is, and how thankful we should be that we are free people and not under such oppression.

Liberty and property are precious gifts in the eyes of anyone whose work and possessions are left at the mercy of an absolute ruler. It also reminds us how often our hopes are disappointed. The Israelites had just begun to hope for relief, and now they faced even greater trouble. We should learn to rejoice with caution and humility.

It also shows the strange way God sometimes leads his people to deliverance. He often brings them to the very edge before he appears for them. The lowest ebb often comes before the highest tide, and very dark mornings often come just before the brightest days (Deuteronomy 32:36). God often helps when things are at their worst, and providence often proves the saying, “The worse, the better.”