Moses spoke thus to the people of Israel, but they did not listen to Moses, because of their broken spirit and harsh slavery.
So the Lord said to Moses, “Go in, tell Pharaoh king of Egypt to let the people of Israel go out of his land.” But Moses said to the Lord, “Behold, the people of Israel have not listened to me. How then shall Pharaoh listen to me, for I am of uncircumcised lips?” But the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron and gave them a charge about the people of Israel and about Pharaoh king of Egypt: to bring the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt.
Exodus 6:9-13
Moses is reassured enough to go with the Lord's message to the people; but they have no heart left and cannot lift their heads enough from their bitter bondage to listen to him. And this disappointing response obviously proves a further discouragement to Moses, as we see from 12, and is like to make him doubt afresh. But the answer is again the same - the promise is unchanged, either by Pharaoh's arrogant intransigence or by Israel's dejection and refusal to listen. Ah, Moses, there is an education for you in all this, is there not? You are being taught and disciplined in the midst of the unfolding of the divine purposes for the people. And thus he is again commissioned to Pharaoh with the same message as before (11). This also has a significance for us. It is something when a man becomes so sure of his message that he is prepared to go on delivering it not only when it does not seem to work, but also when it seems to have the opposite from the desired effect. Those who so petulantly crave for quick results have usually little inkling of the bidden powers and forces at work or the depth at which the challenge of the Spirit requires to be made before the work of God can be accomplished. And so, when immediate effects are not seen, they conclude that the message is defective, and they abandon it to try something else. But the man who is sure of God and of what He has given him to say is content to proclaim it whether things happen or not, in the assurance that in the fullness of the time, God's time, the word will produce its desired and intended effect. But let us be clear that there is a test of faith involved in this. It is easy to say 'I believe God', but another thing to do it!