When the people of Israel left Egypt to go to Canaan, the land which the Lord had promised to Abraham for his descendants as an eternal inheritance, they were pursued by the mighty Egyptian army. The Israelite departure from Egypt was a hurried one. When Moses approached the King of Egypt asking permission to let the people go to worship Yahweh in the wilderness, the Pharaoh denied Moses’ request and increased his oppression of the Israelites (Exodus 5:4-9).
Because of a series of calamities that plagued Egypt with disease, insects, and natural disasters that killed many Egyptians, the king of Egypt finally relented and gave his permission for the Israelites to leave his country (Exodus 12:31-33). However, Pharaoh had a change of mind. The Israelites were an important source of cheap labor, and their departure would cause a severe economic impact on the Egyptian economy. For this reason the Israelites…
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