Is Moses a Liar- Part 2

Exodus 5:1 xodus 5:1 Afterward Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said, "This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: 'Let my people go, so that they may hold a festival to me in the desert.'"


Exodus 8:25-28 25 Then Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said, "Go, sacrifice to your God here in the land." 26 But Moses said, "That would not be right. The sacrifices we offer the LORD our God would be detestable to the Egyptians. And if we offer sacrifices that are detestable in their eyes, will they not stone us? 27 We must take a three-day journey into the desert to offer sacrifices to the LORD our God, as he commands us." 28 Pharaoh said, "I will let you go to offer sacrifices to the LORD your God in the desert, but you must not go very far. Now pray for me."


Exodus 10:24-26 24 Then Pharaoh summoned Moses and said, "Go, worship the LORD. Even your women and children may go with you; only leave your flocks and herds behind." 25 But Moses said, "You must allow us to have sacrifices and burnt offerings to present to the LORD our God. 26 Our livestock too must go with us; not a hoof is to be left behind. We have to use some of them in worshiping the LORD our God, and until we get there we will not know what we are to use to worship the LORD."


Exodus 14:5-7 5 When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, Pharaoh and his officials changed their minds about them and said, "What have we done? We have let the Israelites go and have lost their services!" 6 So he had his chariot made ready and took his army with him. 7 He took six hundred of the best chariots, along with all the other chariots of Egypt, with officers over all of them.

When I read the progression of events, it appears that either Moses is lying to Pharaoh, or at the very least isn’t telling the whole truth. He asks for permission to go out into the desert and hold a festival to the Lord. He never says, “We want to leave forever.”

It appears from Pharaoh’s responses in chapters 8 and 10 that he expects the people to come back. He says, you can go, but don’t go too far, and leave the livestock. Moses came up with a quick response to each of these demands.

In chapter 14 Pharaoh hears that the people are bolting for the border. He realizes that they were never intending to come back. He has been tricked, and that makes him furious. He realizes that he never should have let them go and now they have lost their slaves.

So my question is, did Moses lie to Pharaoh? Did he trick him into letting the people go? What does your study Bible say? What does the internet say? What do you think the best answer is?

That’s the easy question, the harder question is, who hardened Pharaoh’s heart? We deal with that one next week.