Exodus 5

Moses and Aaron approach Pharaoh with God’s simple demand: “Let my people go,” so they can hold a feast in the wilderness. Pharaoh contemptuously refuses, declaring, "Who is the Lord, that I should obey his voice?" As punishment for the request, Pharaoh increases the workload on the Israelite slaves, demanding they gather their own straw yet still produce the same number of bricks. The Hebrew foremen, beaten and blamed by Pharaoh's officers, turn their anger on Moses, crushing Moses's spirit and faith.