So the taskmasters and the foremen of the people went out and said to the people, “Thus says Pharaoh, ‘I will not give you straw. Go and get your straw yourselves wherever you can find it, but your work will not be reduced in the least.’” So the people were scattered throughout all the land of Egypt to gather stubble for straw. The taskmasters were urgent, saying, “Complete your work, your daily task each day, as when there was straw.” And the foremen of the people of Israel, whom Pharaoh’s taskmasters had set over them, were beaten and were asked, “Why have you not done all your task of making bricks today and yesterday, as in the past?”
Then the foremen of the people of Israel came and cried to Pharaoh, “Why do you treat your servants like this? No straw is given to your servants, yet they say to us, ‘Make bricks!’ And behold, your servants are beaten; but the fault is in your own people.” But he said, “You are idle, you are idle; that is why you say, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to the LORD.’ Go now and work. No straw will be given you, but you must still deliver the same number of bricks.”
Comment: Immediately the taskmasters passed the news of the new work law to the enslaved Israelites! Hoping for good news after Moses and Aaron had visited them, the elders were staggered by the new laws. Getting no help from discussing/arguing with the taskmasters they sped to Pharaoh, whom I suspect was expecting such a visit! Pharaoh’s response was cold and stinging, whisking away any hope of a moderation of this unreasonable work load. They must have by now begun to develop harsh feelings towards Moses and Aaron!
Prayer: Teach me that, even when it seems impossible to be true, You are in perfect control.
As I read it! 