Pharaoh refused to let Israel go because he deliberately chose not to obey the Lord, and each refusal made his heart harder; instead of releasing them, he increased their burdens.
When Moses and Aaron confronted Pharaoh with God's demand, Pharaoh answered, 'I know not the LORD, neither will I let Israel go' (Exodus 5:2). Les Feldick teaches that God gave Pharaoh a real choice, and Pharaoh chose to say no. Every time he rejected the offer, it became easier for him to refuse again and harder for him to agree. His refusal led him to make Israel's labor even heavier by withholding straw while demanding the same brick quota.
Exodus 5:2 — Pharaoh's own words answer the question directly: he did not know the Lord, so he would not obey His voice to let Israel go.
Exodus 5 records the first direct confrontation. Moses and Aaron told Pharaoh, "Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Let my people go, that they may hold a feast unto me in the wilderness." Pharaoh's answer was blunt: "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" (Exodus 5:1-2). Instead of relenting, Pharaoh commanded the same day that the people no longer be given straw to make brick; they were to go and gather straw for themselves, and "the tale of the bricks" they were making was not to be reduced one bit (Exodus 5:6-8). This came on top of the earlier oppression described in Exodus 1:14, where the Egyptians made Israel's lives bitter with hard bondage in mortar and brick.
Les Feldick emphasizes that Pharaoh was not a puppet. When Moses and Aaron made God's demand, Pharaoh was put on the spot and had a real choice: let Israel go, or refuse. He chose to refuse. Les stresses that God did not "zoom in on his heart like a laser beam and fry it." Rather, Pharaoh's own repeated decisions hardened him. As Les puts it, every time Pharaoh rejected the offer to let Israel go, it was that much harder for him to say yes and that much easier for him to say no. Les also points to Pharaoh's pagan worldview. Because Egypt had so many gods—frogs, the moon, the sun—Pharaoh's natural response to Jehovah was, "Who is Jehovah? He's just another one of your gods." He did not know the Lord, so he would not obey Him. On top of that, Pharaoh had a practical reason to refuse: he was facing the loss of the Israeli workforce. All of this helps explain why he would not release Israel and why his heart grew harder with each confrontation.
Pharaoh answered, "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" (Exodus 5:2). Les Feldick explains that Pharaoh saw Jehovah as merely one more god in Egypt's pantheon, so the demand meant little to him.
Les Feldick is clear that God gave Pharaoh a genuine choice. When Moses and Aaron confronted him, he could have said yes, but he said no. God did not harden his heart independently; every refusal made Pharaoh's own heart harder. As Les says, after each plague Pharaoh was in a more hardened position than before.
The same day Moses and Aaron spoke to him, Pharaoh commanded that the people no longer be given straw for making bricks; they had to gather straw themselves, yet they still had to meet the same quota of bricks (Exodus 5:6-8). This dramatically increased their labor and made their bondage even more severe.
Les Feldick points out that Pharaoh was facing the loss of the Israelis as a labor force. Egypt used Israelite slaves for building treasure cities and working in mortar and brick (Exodus 1:11-14), so letting them go meant losing that economic asset. This helps explain why he was so determined to refuse.
The Confrontation in Exodus 5
Les sets the scene in Exodus 5 where Moses and Aaron confront Pharaoh, demanding that Israel be allowed to go a three-day journey into the wilderness to sacrifice to the Lord.
Pharaoh's Own Choice
Les shows Pharaoh making his own decision to refuse; he could have let the people go but instead said, 'I will not let them go.'
A Genuine Choice and Progressive Hardening
Les explains that God did not laser-harden Pharaoh's heart; Pharaoh made a real choice, and with each refusal he was in a more hardened position.
The Background of Israel's Burdens
Les describes the earlier oppression when Egypt set taskmasters over Israel to afflict them with burdens and made their lives bitter in mortar and brick.
Every 'No' Makes the Next 'No' Easier
Les teaches that every rejected offer made it harder for Pharaoh to say yes and easier for him to say no.
Pharaoh Didn't Know Jehovah
Les says Pharaoh's response, 'Who is Jehovah?', reflects a pagan who treated the God of Israel as just another god and therefore would not obey him; Pharaoh also faced losing Israel's labor.
Why the Golden Calf Still Matters — 1 Corinthians 10:5-13 Explained
In other words, I imagine Moses thought, these people must have literally threatened Aaron with his life. Either you build us a god, or we'll kill you. I don't know, the book doesn't say that. But Moses is implying that the people put pressure on Aaron to bring all this about. And again, I can't understand Aaron. Look at his answer.
Pharaoh's Obstinate Refusal
Les notes that Pharaoh was obstinately refusing to let Israel go, with God responding by sending plagues.
Exodus 5:2: 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 direct answer to Moses and Aaron, explaining why he refuses.
Exodus 5:7: Ye shall no more give the people straw to make brick, as heretofore: let them go and gather straw for themselves.
Pharaoh's decree that made Israel gather their own straw while still producing bricks.
Exodus 5:8: And the tale of the bricks, which they did make heretofore, ye shall lay upon them; ye shall not diminish ought thereof: for they be idle; therefore they cry, saying, Let us go and sacrifice to our God.
The quota was kept unchanged, so the Israelites' burden increased.
Exodus 1:14: And they made their lives bitter with hard bondage, in morter, and in brick, and in all manner of service in the field: all their service, wherein they made them serve, was with rigour.
The background of Israel's bondage shows how heavy their burden already was.
When Pharaoh refused to obey the Lord, he commanded the same day that the people no longer get straw for their brickmaking. They had to gather straw themselves but still produce the full quota of bricks, so their burden was severely increased (Exodus 5:6-8).
No. Les Feldick teaches that God put Pharaoh in a position where he had to choose, and Pharaoh chose to refuse. Each refusal made his heart harder; God did not 'fry' his heart with a laser beam.
Pharaoh, surrounded by Egypt's many gods, saw Jehovah as just another deity. Les says his natural response was to dismiss Him: 'I know not Jehovah, neither will I let Israel go.'
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