Parasha: Vaera · Aliyah: First (Chesed)

וידבר אלוקים אל משה, G'd spoke sternly to Moses, etc. Why did the Torah not tell us what G'd said? Besides, why did G'd refer to Himself as י־ה־ו־ה after He had already told Moses who He was in 3,15? At that time He had added: "this is My name forever!" Why then did He have to tell Moses at this juncture אני ה׳?

Inasmuch as Moses had spoken in an unseemly manner in the presence of the Almighty, something that he never would have dared to do if G'd had not previously shown him His smiling face as represented by the attribute י־ה־ו־ה, G'd had to show him a different attribute i.e. אלוקים before answering him in detail. The Torah introduces this chapter (from verse 2) by letting us know that G'd spoke in His capacity as the attribute of Justice, i.e. אלוקים.

When G'd appears to make a turnabout at the end of our verse and refers to Himself as the attribute of Mercy this is in line with the principle expressed in Berachot 30 that "wherever there is גלה, joy in one's relationship with G'd, there must be רעדה, fear or dread, simultaneously." Although G'd had previously displayed His attribute of Mercy this did not mean that man should not display an appropriate degree of trepidation when facing Him.

Our verse may also be understood thus: וידבר אלוקים, G'd spoke to Moses on matters of justice. Since G'd wanted Moses to know that his argument had been heard and considered, He added: אני השם. The use of this attribute at this juncture is equivalent to G'd asking Moses: "how could you attribute to Me a negative virtue such as being the originator of harm befalling My people? My outstanding characteristic is the sttribute of חסד, love, mercy, etc." Even the prophet Jeremiah has already made it plain that evil never originates with G'd (compare Lamentations 3,38: "Evil does not originate from G'd (but only Good)." The letter ו in front of the word והטוב in the verse in Lamentations refers to the fact that G'd does not interfere if a person wants to be good or evil. These decisions are up to each individual. It is up to man to choose good rather than evil. When you study the Bible you will find that whenever G'd mentions that the wicked are being remembered when they receive their deserts, the Bible underlines that the evil they are being punished for is of their own making. Compare in this respect Samuel I 24,13: "Wicked deeds come from wicked men." Jeremiah 2,19: "Your evil deeds will cause you to be disciplined." Isaiah 64,6: "You have made us melt because of our iniquities." There are many more similar quotations in the Bible. In view of this what gave Moses the right to assume that the Israelites' additional hardships were not due to something they had done themselves? It is also possible that the Israelites had not yet been adequately punished for whatever they had been guilty of prior to Moses' appointment. Perhaps some of the people had even become guilty of lack of faith after Moses had accredited himself as their prophet and leader. Your best proof that this was possible is the fact that the elders who set out to face Pharaoh together with Moses and Aaron dropped out on the way. Perhaps G'd would not have allowed Pharaoh to make the decree of withholding straw if the elders had not abandoned Moses on the way? At any rate Moses had been too quick to describe what happened to the people as being G'd's fault.

Perhaps G'd simply responded to the two questions Moses had raised in their proper order. G'd responded harshly to the question: "Why have You let evil happen to the people? Moses' question/accusation had been inappropriate. The Torah was so concerned about Moses' honour that it did not spell out the fact that he had spoken in an inadmissible fashion. G'd responded kindly to Moses' question: "Why have You sent me?" G'd may even have hinted that in due course Moses would have to answer for his question and this is why the details are not spelled out here. When G'd reverted to "I am the merciful G'd," this was the answer to "Why have You sent me?" G'd meant that He had sent Moses because He could not longer sit idly by when His people were being tortured, and this is why He had decided to advance the date when they would cease to suffer by sending Moses now so that he could orchestrate a string of plagues with which G'd would hit the Egyptians. Moses would begin to see immediately how at least the slave labour would come to an end.

Perhaps we can understand G'd manifesting Himself simultaneously as the attribute of Justice and the attribute of Mercy through reference to Bamidbar Rabbah 3,6 where we find a discussion about what merit led to the Exodus of the Jewish people from Egypt. One of the sages quotes Psalms 68,7 מוציא אסירים בכושרות to mean that the word כושרות is a combined form of בכי, weeping, and שיר song. Accordingly, two attributes of G'd were at work during the Exodus. G'd applied His attribute of Justice to the Egyptians, hence weeping, whereas He applied His attribute of Mercy to the Israelites, hence song. In our verse we find a parallel to that when G'd is introduced as אלוקים i.e. His attitude to the Egyptians, and immediately afterwards as י־ה־ו־ה i.e. as His attitude to the Jews. We have a principle that once G'd allows the destructive forces free reign, those forces do not distinguish between the guilty and the innocent. This principle is especially apparent when the innocent and the guity dwell in close proximity to one another, something that was certainly the case with Jews and Egyptians at that time. Moses would have assumed that when G'd would bring the plagues on the Egyptians there would be a negative fallout also on the Israelites. This is why G'd hinted already at this time that whereas He would act as אלוקים against the Egyptians, He would at one and the same time act as השם towards the Jews so that they would not suffer from any of these plagues. All of this is spelled out later in greater detail such as that even in the midst of such a plague as darkness no darkness engulfed a single Jew (compare Exodus 10,23). The same occurred in 9,6 during the plague of pestilence when not a single one of the animals owned by Jews died.

We have a tradition expressed in Bereshit Rabbah 73,3 that "wicked people can cause the attribute of Mercy to be converted into the attribute of Justice." Our verse may refer to such an instance. It commences with the attribute of Justice, and continues by mentioning the attribute of Mercy. This is a way of the Torah telling us that the attribute of Mercy agreed with what the attribute of Justice was about to do to Pharaoh and the Egyptians.

In the same Midrash where we are told that the wicked may cause the attribute of Mercy to co-operate with the attribute of Justice, we are also told "hail to the righteous who are able to convert even the attribute of Justice to co-operate with the attribute of Mercy." Accordingly, the Torah i.e. וידבר אלוקים ויאמר may tell us that the reason the verse commences with G'd as His attribute of Justice and then appearing as the attribute of Mercy is, that even the attribute of Mercy had agreed to the proposal of the attribute of Justice that the Jews should cease to perform slave labour and that the means to bring this about was the infliction of the plagues on the Egyptians.

We may also see in this verse G'd's response to Moses' amazement why He had not reacted to the insult Pharaoh had committed when he denied His existence. The words וידבר אלוקים are directed at Pharaoh who was about to experience proof of G'd's existence by being subjected to a string of retributory plagues. G'd could have eliminated Pharaoh in a single plague if He had employed only the attribute of Justice. The reason He chose not to do so was that He wanted to acquaint Pharaoh with one of His other attributes, i.e. His long patience, ארך אפים. G'd is in no hurry to conclude His dealings with the recalcitrant sinners, giving them a chance to repent. This is why we have input by the attribute of Mercy even in His dealings with Pharaoh.

On the other hand, G'd may have demonstrated that His harshness, i.e. וידבר אלוקים was reserved for the messenger, i.e. Moses. The Jewish people, i.e. the ones under the messenger's care, were not to suffer from the mistake their leader had made. This is why G'd continued: ויאמר השם.

G'd may also have told Moses here that although He ought to employ the attribute of Justice against him at this stage, He did not do so because He kept in mind that that attribute was reserved for people who had committed a sin consciously (compare Rosh Hashanah 17 defining עובר על פשע). It is well known that Moses was extremely humble; as a result, G'd employed His own attribute of being נושא עון, demonstrating a forgiving nature, when reacting to Moses' error in this instance. He alluded to this when He told him אני השם.

Finally, G'd may have revealed a mystical dimension of His to Moses when He explained that He could combine the attribute of Justice and the attribute of Mercy within Himself; this was a new aspect of G'd's unity which Moses had not been aware of.

וארא אל אברהם, I used to appear to Abraham, etc. The reason G'd did not lump the three patriarchs together but referred to each one by name is, that G'd's relationship with each one of the patriarchs was based on something unique to the patriarch in question. Abraham was unique in that he recognised his Creator without having had guidance from another human being. If someone had foreknowledge of the existence of G'd and His power, he does not deserve special credit for conducting himself in line with such knowledge. Every intelligent being would choose good over evil once he possessed such knowledge. Abraham did not possess any of these advantages which would have acquainted him with G'd's attributes. We have explained in connection with Isaiah 41,9 that the reason G'd called Abraham "the one who loves Me" was because his faith and morality was the result of his being a "self-starter." He cleaved to his faith in G'd in spite of the most demanding tests G'd subjected him to.

Isaac possessed another unique characteristic; he had submitted without question to his father's request made in the name of G'd to give his life for that G'd. He did not even ask for an explanation of why he had to give his life.

Jacob was unique in not wasting a single drop of semen by producing offspring which was not worthy of him. All his children remained loyal to his teachings.

G'd explained to Moses that He had not revealed His attribute of the four-lettered name י־ה־ו־ה which He had revealed to Moses to any of these three patrirachs, but had revealed to them only His attribute שדי. G'd now told Moses that in view of the revelations He had already made to him, he had displayed ingratitude by speaking to Him in an inappropriate, critical manner.

While it is true that in the Torah's report of G'd's communications with Abraham (Genesis 18,1) we find such an expression as וירא ה׳ אל אברהם, which seems to suggest that G'd revealed this aspect (the tetragram) of His attributes to Abraham, this is misleading. G'd may have dealt with him on that basis, but He had not confided that fact to Abraham, i.e. Abraham remained unaware of the difference between G'd in His capacity as אל שדי and G'd in His capacity as י־ה־ו־ה. This is what G'd meant when He said ושמי ה׳ לא נודעתי להם, "they were not informed of My name י־ה־ו־ה.

G'd also meant that the patriarchs were not aware of the unique simultaneous effectiveness of both of G'd's attributes, as we mentioned in connection with verse two. The mystical dimension of this is recorded in Kings I 18,39 when the assembled people realised this after Eliyahu's demonstration on Mount Carmel. The prophet Zachariah also makes reference to this phenomenon in Zachariah 14,9 when he describes that in the futre והיה ה׳ אחד ושמו אחד, people will realise that in spite of G'd's many attributes these are all part of the same Essence. G'd's name and G'd's Essence will be perceived as an indivisible unit, unlike all creatures whose names do not necessarily reflect anything about their essence. It was inappropriate for G'd to say לא הודעתי, "I have not made known," since it was G'd's "name" who was speaking. This is why the Torah had to write: לא נודעתי "I have not become known."

G'd may also have answered Moses' question why He had sent him on this mission before the time designated for the redemption. He explained that G'd's timetable is not absolute. When He had spoken to Abraham about a period of 400 years after which the Israelites would leave their exile and bondage with great wealth (Genesis 15,14), that timetable had been based on G'd having revealed His attribute אל שדי to Abraham. That attribute is one which is inflexible. It reflects the fact that G'd has set absolute limits to certain developments. However, that attribute is part of the overall attribute אלוקים, an attribute which governs G'd's manifestations in nature. G'd had not taught Abraham that by appealing to His attribute of רחמים, Mercy, the limitations which are part of the אל שדי syndrome can become more flexible. Since the prayers of the whole Jewish nation had reached His attribute of Mercy this is why He decided to respond before the time which had originally been designated for the redemption. G'd began by saying that he was י־ה־ו־ה in order to teach Moses that when one "knocks on the door of Mercy," such knocks are apt to evoke a response on the other side of that door.

There may be yet another nuance in G'd's saying "I have appeared to Abraham." The implied message is G'd's rhetorical question: "How could I turn a deaf ear to a nation who are the offspring of My most beloved Patriarchs, to each of whom I made a point of revealing Myself separately at the appropriate time. The Torah made a point of not writing אברהם,יצחק,יעקב, but of interposing the word אל each time. This underlines that each one of the patriarchs merited a revelation in his own right. In spite of all this, G'd continues, I still did not reveal the aspect of the attribute of Mercy to these patriarchs. One of the reasons I could not do this was because I had not yet demonstrated how this Mercy is expressed in practice, such as now when I am about to change My timetable for the redemption.

וגם הקימותי את בריתי, "And I also maintain My covenant, etc." G'd may have added here (according to our previous commentary) that even if He had already fulfilled His covenant with the patriarchs, they still would not have become privy to the degree of revelation that Moses had already now become privy to.

Put simply, G'd explains to Moses in our verse that He owed the patriarchs something over and beyond His having revealed Himself to the patriarchs as the אל שדי. That something was the fulfilment of His promise/oath that the people of Israel would be redeemed from bondage. The time had now arrived for that promise to be kept; G'd also explained to Moses why he had to wait for the redemption somewhat longer, i.e. that G'd now invoked His מדת הרחמים. G'd was afraid that Moses would not have the emotional fortitude to pursue his mission with all the necessary vigour when he saw Pharaoh's obstinacy, or when he would face the pursuing Egyptian cavalry behind him and the sea in front; G'd therefore explained to Moses that the purpose of the redemption was not only the Exodus but also the conquest of the Holy Land.

את ארץ מגוריהם, "the land in which they (the patriarchs) used to sojourn." Why did the Torah not content itself with describing the land the patriarchs had lived in as "the land of Canaan?" Why did the words את ארץ מגוריהם have to be added? Perhaps the Torah wanted to make us aware that the status of being aliens (which was part of the period of 400 years G'd had spoken to Abraham about) had already commenced during the lifetime of the patriarchs. This would have a great bearing on the timing of the Exodus. Still, this would leave open why the Torah had to use the word את twice when referring to that land. Use of that word creates the impression that the land of Canaan and the land in which the patriarchs sojourned were two different countries. Perhaps the Torah wanted to include the land of the Philistines [the coastal strip including Gaza, seeing that the Philistines were not of Canaanitic descent Ed.]. I have already explained this on Genesis 26,3.

וגם אני שמעתי את נאקת בני ישראל, "I have also heard the groaning of the children of Israel, etc." The word וגם, "and also," refers to something over and beyond the prayers of the Israelites to the attribute of Mercy. In addition to the prayers of the Israelites and G'd's love for the patriarchs, there was a third consideration which had a bearing on G'd's timetable for the redemption, namely the outcry of the Israelites due to the torture they were experiencing. This third element is referred to by G'd in our verse by the words: וגם אני, "also I." G'd reveals His name of אני as an aspect of the attribute of Mercy. Previously, this name had only appeared in conjunction with the tetragram. G'd revealed that there are occasions when people's groanings even when not accompanied by verbalised prayer reach the attribute of Mercy and evoke a response. This is why He added אשר מצרים מעבידים אותם, "the manner in which the Egyptians have enslaved them." I refer the reader to my comments on Exodus 2,23 in this respect.

ואזכר את בריתי, "I have remembered My covenant." G'd means that He remembered both parts of the covenant, i.e. to redeem the people and to bring them to the Holy Land. [This had been a covenant with the patriarchs. What is new is that the present generation of Israelites would be the ones who would experience realisation of that covenant.] In this instance G'd spoke about a covenant which had not yet been spelled out but which follows immediately in the next four verses. G'd repeats the covenant only as an explanation of why He has advanced the date it is to become effective. The commentators who understand this covenant as a promise to punish the Egyptians are wrong; none of this has been mentioned in the verse following this declaration.

לכן אמור לבני ישראל אני ה׳. "Therefore, say to the Israelites: 'I am י־ה־ו־ה.'" Moses was to tell the Israelites in the name of G'd that He was the attribute of Mercy and that He had decided to invoke this attribute on their behalf. As a result, He would lead them out of Egypt and perform the other stages which would complete the process of redemption.

The word לכן is a form of an oath as we know from Ezekiel 20,30-42. In that instance the prophet refers to our verse as something concerning which G'd had said: "I have raised My hand," i.e. a clear form of an oath.

G'd enumerates the steps of the redemption. 1) First "I will take you out from beneath the hard labour of Egypt;" this is the removal of the slave labour performed for the Egyptians. It would commence immediately with the plague of blood. Although this resulted in the dispersal of the taskmasters, the Israelites continued to perform light duty tasks. 2) "I will save you from their bondage;" this referred to the remaining kind of labour the Israelites performed for the Egyptians. 3) "I will liberate you;" this refers to the actual departure of the Israelites from the country. This also includes the splitting of the sea as the departure would have been meaningless without that final stage. The word וגאלתי must refer to a liberation which is not followed by pursuit. Following that stage the Jewish people would experience ולקחתי אתכם לי לעם," I will take you to be My people" which is a reference to the revelation at Mount Sinai when G'd gave us the Torah. At that point G'd would be able to say that: "I have truly become your G'd."

These latter words may also refer to Moses' prayer in Exodus 33,16 which Berachot 7 interprets to mean that G'd should not reveal Himself to any other nation nor give them prophets. The operative word in והייתי לכם לאלוקים then would be לכם, "for you exclusively."

One could also understand this verse as speaking of four separate redemptions as does Shemot Rabbah 6,4. This may be alluded to in G'd first again repeating His attribute as the tetragram. Accordingly, the four activities of which G'd speaks here would each be a redemption from a different decree of Pharaoh. The words "I shall be your G'd" would then refer to G'd having proved that He kept His promise. The name אלוקים often occurs as symbolic of truth and honesty. The knowledge of G'd as the attribute of Mercy will become widespread amongst the people as a result of these four redemptions.

וידעתם כי אני ה׳ אלוקיכם, "you will know that I י־ה־ו־ה am the Lord your G'd." G'd means that the Israelites will now receive clear evidence which attribute of G'd it is that will set in motion the various steps of the redemption. They will also realise in retrospect that the attribute of Mercy had been predominant in all of G'd's actions.

והבאתי אתכם אל הארץ, "And I shall bring you to the land, etc." It is difficult to reconcile this promise with our tradition that G'd speaks the unvarnished truth when we know it to be a fact that the generation G'd was addressing at that time did not get to the Holy Land. Only the children of that generation actually crossed the Jordan and took possession of the land of Canaan. Every one of the people who left Egypt at an age of twenty or over died on the way. Our problem is even more serious in view of the statement of our sages (Shemot Rabbah 6:4) that the word לכן in 6,6, is a form of an oath.

I believe that G'd Himself was already aware of this problem and that is why He prefaced the statement "I will bring you to the land, etc," with the words: "you will know that I am the merciful G'd who is about to take you out from under the slave labour of Egypt." The two statements are to be considered as conditions. What G'd meant was simply this. "Provided that you will have realised that I am the One who takes you out of Egypt and that I have demonstrated to be the merciful G'd,-then you will also experience that I shall bring you to the land which I have sworn to your forefathers and will give it to you as an inheritance." G'd was very careful to insert this condition in the very midst of the promise He made and not only as an afterthought. In the event that the Israelites would not fulfil the conditions laid down history would have to take its course in accordance with their conduct.

מקצר רות ומעבודה קשה, for impatience of spirit and cruel bondage. Perhaps the people did not respond positively to this assurance because they had not yet received the Torah. Since Torah broadens a person's mind, the Torah may hint at that by describing the Israelites' state of mind as "narrow minded, limited."

ומעבודה קשה, and because of the cruel bondage. The reason that the Torah writes: "and because of the cruel bondage," is that they suffered from קצר רוח, impatience, quite independently of the effects of the bondage on their state of mind. They had become impatient at their fate when they pondered the additional workload Pharaoh had imposed upon them. A person who is in that frame of mind cannot even perform the labour he is normally capable of performing. This is why the Torah adds the words ומעבודה קשה.

The people had good reason for becoming impatient at their fate because when Moses had come he had given them hope that their liberation was close at hand. This had given them a new and broader perspective on life. Now, when Pharaoh had decreed additional hardships their minds could concentrate only on how to cope with the immediate and even worse situation. The word מעבודה may therefore be understood as something comparative, i.e. the even greater bondage than had been their lot prior to Moses' coming.

ויאמר…. בא דבר אל פרעה, He said:" come and speak sternly with Pharaoh, etc." Moses was to tell Pharaoh that G'd had instructed him to speak to Pharaoh and to demand that he should let the Jewish people depart from his land. The letter ו at the beginning of the word וישלח is significant because it does not make sense as a conjunctive letter; nothing else had been demanded prior to that in the conversation described. It must therefore refer to Moses telling Pharaoh that his first instruction had been to tell him that he spoke at the behest of G'd. It was quite an event that an ordinary individual should present himself at court without invitation and make demands on the Monarch. The manner in which these demands were to be made was even more astounding.

Moreover, it appears that Moses was to demand not only that Pharaoh should not object if the Israelites would leave of their own accord, but he was to demand that Pharaoh actually give them a "send-off."

לפני ה׳ לאמור הן בני ישראל לא שמעו אלי, in G'd's presence, saying: "here the Israelites do not listen to me, etc." What is the meaning of the word לאמור in this context? Who was G'd to communicate Moses' comments to? Perhaps we should not understand this verse as Moses' contemplating to refuse this mission but as a comment addressed to himself, bemoaning his failure thus far. The word לאמור could be a rhetorical comment Moses made that instead of results, all his attempts of speaking to Pharaoh would remain just that, words.

Moses may also have alluded to his inability to speak effectively due to his stammer which had made even the Israelites unwilling to respond to him. He implied that G'd should heal his disability in order to make him a more effective spokesman.

הן בני ישראל לא שמעו, "even the children of Israel have not listened, etc." The logic expressed by Moses in this verse seems untenable if Moses accepted the Torah's statement in verse nine that the reason the Israelites did not respond to Moses was their קצר רוח, their understandable impatience. How could Moses compare Pharaoh's potentially negative response to that of the Israelites? What comparable pressure had Pharaoh been under?

Perhaps Moses' logic is valid when we consider some other aspects. While it is true that the Israelites suffered from an impatient state of mind, there were other reasons why they should have listened to Moses. The most important such reason was their faith in G'd. Secondly, this inherent faith should have been reinforced by the good news Moses had brought them. When contrasted with these two factors which certainly did not influence Pharaoh who had blasphemed "who is G'd?", the fact that the Israelites did not listen to him made it seem totally unjustified to expect that Pharaoh should take Moses' demands seriously. Moses suggested that the קצר רוח displayed by the Israelites was minor compared to the קצר רוח which Pharaoh would display once he heard Moses' demands.

The reason Moses added at this juncture that he had a stammer was because he felt this would reinforce Pharaoh's rejection of anything he had to say. Pharaoh would reason- at least to himself- that if the powerful G'd that Moses spoke about had not even cured his spokesman of a simple speech defect, it was laughable to think that He could impose His will on the mightiest ruler in the world. In fact, if this kind of reasoning were to be conveyed to the Israelites, it might further undermine their faith in G'd.

There was another reason for Moses' argument at this point. Whereas in Exodus 4,16 G'd had countered Moses' argument about his stammer by appointing Aaron as his mouthpiece, this was only in order to convey G'd's message to Moses to the Jewish people. We find confirmation of this in 4,30. However, already in 5,1 we find that Moses himself spoke in his mission to Pharaoh (at least also). If we look for confirmation of this thought in the text we may find it in the way Moses describes the Israelites' attitude to him and the attitude he expects from Pharaoh. Concerning Israel he said: "they did not listen to me" seeing Israel only heard the voice of Aaron. When describing Pharaoh's anticipated reaction Moses says ישמעני "he will hear me," meaning he will hear Moses' defective speech. It is important to remember this little detail in order to facilitate understanding of what is still to come.

וידבר ה׳ אל משה ואל אהרון, G'd spoke to Moses and to Aaron, etc. First of all we need to know what G'd said to them, secondly what did the Torah mean when it added :"He commanded them to the children of Israel and to Pharaoh, etc." According to Shemot Rabbah 7,3 G'd informed Moses and Aaron about how intractable the people could be and how they were apt to heap abuse on their leaders. Moses and Aaron should therefore lead them בנחת, in an easy-going manner. G'd also told Moses and Aaron not to be disrespectul to Royalty, i.e. to the person of Pharaoh. These comments are purely homiletical. Furthermore, where is G'd's response to Moses who had questioned the point of this whole mission? The very least G'd could have told Moses was that his logic was faulty! Whereas it is possible to construe G'd's silence as disapproval of Moses' reasoning, we cannot do so in this instance. Let us look for a moment at the verse that follows. Assuming that Moses had not been concerned about what G'd would answer him in response to his question "how can Pharaoh listen to me if even the Israelites do not listen to me?" Why wouldn't G'd have continued immediately with what He had to say in verse 29? What is the whole point of the Torah repeating Moses' question again in 6,29-30 unless Moses had not received an answer from G'd to his קל וחומר, his logical argument?

In view of the above I believe the correct explanation is that G'd did reply to Moses' argument that the Israelites had not listened to him, and even to his second argument, that Pharaoh would most certainly not listen to him either as long as he was still afflicted with his speech defect. We need to understand G'd's reply thus: וידבר ה׳ אל משה ואהרון, G'd equated Moses with Aaron in their mission so that Aaron would speak to Pharaoh (just as he had spoken to the Israelites as Moses' mouthpiece) Seeing that thus far the Israelites had not listened to either Aaron or Moses ויצום, He commanded them, He appointed them as "kings" over the Israelites so that the people would accept their authority forthwith. We find something similar in Samuel I 13,14 where Samuel told King Saul that he would be supplanted and that G'd had looked for someone else (David) whom "G'd appointed as leader for His people" i.e. ויצווהו ה לנגיד על עמו.

When G'd added the words להוציא את בני ישראל, He meant that the reason Moses and Aaron would have to wield the kind of authority only a king can have was in order that He should be able to take the children of Israel out of Egypt. Moses would have the authority to deal with anyone who refused to leave Egypt, for instance. At the same time Moses' and Aaron's authority would also ensure that Pharaoh could not refuse them. It is even possible that when Moses referred to the Israelites who had not listened to him, he referred to his lack of legal authority to force them to leave Egypt when the time came, and that he was already aware that there would be such Jews. When we consider all this, G'd did indeed answer Moses' claim that the Israelites did not listen to him by saying that as of now they would be under orders to listen to him. At the same time, G'd instructed Moses not to address Pharaoh as someone who appeals to him but as someone who ordered Pharaoh to carry out his instructions.