NOTES for Exo 5:1-23
There are many stories in the Bible about faith passing through trials. Their content is similar in many ways: following God's promise unexpectedly leads to the completely opposite result. In this story, Moses' attempts to carry out the task God gave him, the task of saving the people from slavery, lead only to forced labor becoming harsher.
Moses and those who were ready to believe him can no longer keep going "on autopilot," when everything runs smoothly and one can only marvel at how wonderfully God has arranged everything. No, they have to stand before another choice: either all this was deception (or self-deception), or God will be faithful to His promise and will not leave them in slavery. It turns out that faith is a choice in favor of God, and tested faith is a choice in favor of God in spite of everything...