Exodus 3:16-18

"Go, and gather the elders of Israel together, and say unto them, JEHOVAH THE GOD OF YOUR FATHERS; THE GOD OF ABRAHAM; AND OF ISAAC; AND OF JACOB; HATH APPEARED UNTO ME; SAYING, I have surely visited you, and seen that which is done to you in Egypt: and I have said, I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt unto the land of the Canaanite, and the Hittite, and the Amorite, and the Perizzite, and the Hivite, and the Jebusite, unto a land flowing with milk and honey. And they shall hearken to thy voice: and thou shalt come, thou and the elders of Israel, unto the king of Egypt, and ye shall say unto him, Jehovah, the God of the Hebrews, hath met with us: and and now let us go, we pray thee, three days journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to Jehovah our God."

One may only smile at such a contradiction as that alleged by Peake, who complained that here Moses was instructed to communicate through "the elders," whereas in Exodus 3:15, it was to be "with the people at large"![26] Of course, there would have been absolutely no other way that Moses could have contacted the people at large, except through the Jewish institution of the eldership, visible here in the Bible for the very first time. It should be remembered that the Israelites were now a nation of some 2,000,000 people, with a potential standing army of over 600,000 men! As Dummelow expressed it:

"In the Pentateuch, when the people of Israel are addressed, it is frequently the elders who are meant. They are the usual medium of communication between Moses and the people, and act as representatives of the latter."[27]

Note again the prominence of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the name that Moses is instructed to use.

Some scholars who hold themselves as capable of passing judgment upon the actions of God Himself are inclined to be very critical of this passage, because, according to them, God instructed Moses to request permission for a journey of three days, merely to deceive Pharaoh, having no intention whatever of confining their departure to a mere distance of three days journey. It is far more commendable to study the text with a view of thinking God's thoughts after Him, that we might know the truth. Dummelow has an excellent explanation of why this first request of Pharaoh involved a mere three days' journey:

"There was no intention to deceive Pharaoh in this request. Had Pharaoh been willing to grant the people entire release, this would have been asked at first. But God, knowing that Pharaoh would not let them go, enjoined Moses to make only this moderate request, so as to emphasize the obstinancy of the king."[28]

Keil was most surely correct in his judgment that, If Pharaoh had rendered obedience to God in the smaller request regarding the journey of three days, God would have given him strength to be faithful in the greater. Thus, it was an act of mercy toward Pharaoh, that God did not request of him all at once the total of what would surely be required eventually.[29]