Exodus 5 begins with a visit to Pharaoh to inform him of what the Lord has said, but Pharaoh did not listen to Moses and Aaron, saying “Who is the Lord, that I should obey him and let Israel go? I do not know the Lord and I will not let Israel go.” Pharaoh then blamed Moses and Aaron for trying to take the people away from their labor, so he ordered the slave drivers to be more harsh and increase their labor. Moses returned to the Lord and said, “O Lord, why have you brought trouble upon the people?” and Moses complained to God that he had not rescued the people.

In Exodus 4, Moses says "What if they do not believe me or listen to me and say, 'The Lord did not appear to you' ?" So Moses was again unsure of his ability to lead the Israelites, but God told Moses that He would show Himself to the people through Moses by wonderous signs and miracles. Then Moses said, "O Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue." God responded, "Who gave man his mouth? ... Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say." Moses begged, "please send someone else to do it". Though the Lord was angry at Moses, he sent Moses' brother, Aaron, also and said "I will help both of you speak and will teach you what to do". God then told Moses to return to Egypt, perform signs and miracles before Pharaoh that He will give power to do, and then say to Pharaoh, "Let my people go". God warned Moses that Pharaoh's heart will be hardened and he would not let the people go. God instructed Moses to tell Pharaoh that the consequence will be the death of his firstborn son, since he refused the request for His firstborn son, Israel, not allowing him to worship the Lord. Then Moses and Aaron brought together all the elders of the Israelites and told them everything the Lord had said to Moses and that the Lord was concerned about them and had seen their misery. Moses then performed for the Israelites all the signs and they believed and bowed down and worshiped the Lord.

In Exodus 3, the angel of the Lord appears to Moses in the flames within a bush. God called to him within the bush, "Moses! Moses!" and Moses said, "Here I am". God then told him "I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt... I have come down to rescue them .. and bring them up out of that land ... I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people out of Egypt." Moses did not feel qualified, saying "Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh...?" and God said, "I will be with you.... say to the Israelites, 'The Lord, the God of your fathers--the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob--has sent me...and the Lord has seen what has been done to you in Egypt. He has promised to bring you up out of your misery'." God told Moses to assemble the elders and ask the king of Egypt to allow the people to take a three day journey into the desert to offer sacrifices to their Lord. God said also to Moses that He would "stretch out My hand and strike the Egyptians will all the wonders that I will perform among them and after that, he will let you go... and I will make the Egyptians favorabley disposed toward the people... they will put articles of silver and gold on your sons and daughters.. and so you will plunder the Egyptians".

Exodus 2 introduces Moses. Forbidden to keep a baby boy, his mother hid him as long as she could, but eventually left him in a basket by the bank of the Nile. Pharaoh's daughter found the baby and took him and raised him as her own son. Later, when Moses was grown, he had compassion on the Hebrew people and defended them against the Egyptians. He once even killed an Egyptian who had been beating a Hebrew slave, When Pharaoh heard of this, he tried to kill Moses, but Moses fled to Midian. There, Moses met and married Zipporah, and had a son, Gershom. During this time, the Israelites groaned and cried out to God, and He heard them and remembered His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, "So God looked on the Israelites and was concerned about thiem."

Exodus 1 begins the oppression of the Israelites by the king of Egypt. He said " the Israelites have become much too numerous...we must deal shrewdly with them or they will become even more numerous and, if war breaks out, will join our enemies, fight against us and leave the country." So they enslaved and oppressed them into forced labor and worked them ruthlessly, making their lives bitter. The king of Egypt also told the midwives to only allow the girl babies of the Israelites to live, but the midwives said to him, "Hebrew women are not like Egyptian women; they are vigorous and give birth before the midwives even arrive." So God was kind to the Israelites, and they became even more numerous. But, Pharaoh, then gave an order to all his people, "Every (Hebrew) boy that is born you must throw into the Nile, but let every girl live."

In Genesis 49-50, Jacob again blessed his sons and gave them his final instructions and then died. After a period of mourning, Joseph returned to Egypt with his brothers. His brothers were worried that now Joseph might pay them back for the wrongs they did to him, but he said, "don't be afraid.. Am I in the place of God? You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. So, don't be afraid. I will provide for you and your children." Joseph lived in Egypt, having seen three generations of children, and then said to his brothers, " I am about to die. But God will surely come to your aid and take you up out of this land to the land he promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob."

Genesis 48 begins with Joseph discovering that his father is ill, so he brought his two sons and visited Israel. Israel then reckons Joseph's two sons to be his own and blesses them with God's promises to his descendants. Then he blessed both sons and Joseph also saying, "... may God who has been my shepherd all my life to this day, the Angel who has delivered me from all harm--may He bless these boys. May they be called by my name and the names of my fathers Abraham and Isaac, and may they increase greatly upon the earth." Joseph was surprised that Israel had intentionally placed his right hand on the younger son, Ephraim, saying, " The younger brother will be greater than he, and his descendants will become a group of nations. The older son will too become a people, and he too will become great." Then Israel said to Joseph, "I am about to die, but God will be with you and take you back to the land of your fathers".