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Why Things First Got Worse When Moshe Appeared Before Pharoah

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edu:
Or you don't have to necessarily increase the number of wives but just the amount of children the average wife had.
So for example if for the first 96 years in Egypt, each one of 4 wives has on average 6 sons; and we start with only 60 out of the original 70 having multiple wives.
So then after 24 years in egypt we have 4*6*60 sons=1440 at year 48 we have 1440*4*6=34,560 sons. At year 72 we have 34,560*4*6=829,440 sons. At year 96 we have 829,400 * 4*6=19,906,560 sons.
From this point in time let's just double the number of sons once every 24 years.
39,813,129
79,626,240
159,252,480
318,504,960
If you take this last number and divide by 500=637,009.92
So you see that even though I don't hold by the 1 in 500 viewpoint, in theory it works.

muman613:
The simple answer...

Because Hashem said so... Hashem told Moshe that Paroah would not let them go and would make it harder on the Children of Israel before he went...

Shemot 3:
18. And they will hearken to your voice, and you shall come, you and the elders of Israel, to the king of Egypt, and you shall say to him, 'The Lord God of the Hebrews has happened upon us, and now, let us go for a three days' journey in the desert and offer up sacrifices to the Lord, our God.'
19. However, I know that the king of Egypt will not permit you to go, except through a mighty hand.
20. And I will stretch forth My hand and smite the Egyptians with all My miracles that I will wreak in their midst, and afterwards he will send you out.

One of Rashis comment on 3:19 "I know that the king of Egypt will not permit..." is:

the king of Egypt will not permit you to go: if I do not show him My mighty hand; i.e., as long as I do not show him My mighty hand, he will not let you go.

So my suggestion (according to Rashis comments) is that Hashem wanted Pharoah to resist and make it harder on the Jewish people in order that they should witness the Plagues and the destruction of the Egyptians.

muman613:
I suppose this question could stand beside the question over why Hashem, knowing that the Plague of the Death of the Firstborn would be the 'straw which breaks the camels back' so to speak, why didn't he bring it as the first plague and spare the Egyptians from all the suffering? It boils down to the idea that Hashem WANTED to bring the plagues to demonstrate his control over nature and human beings to the world (especially to his Jewish people).

muman613:
Here is the idea that Egypt was intended to be an 'iron crucible' used to form/refine the Jewish people in Egypt..

http://www.torah.org/learning/legacy/5768/beshalach.html


--- Quote ---Pithom! As in “Pithom and Ramses”? How can it be? Earlier, the Torah records that this very city, Pithom, had been built with the backbreaking labor of the enslaved Jewish people. Its soil was soaked with their blood, sweat and tears, its very air full to bursting with the echoes of their groans and cries. If anything, this city was a monument to slavery and oppression. How could the Jewish people view it as “the Gateway to Freedom”?

The commentators explain that the spectacular display of miracles that accompanied the Exodus caused the Jewish people to reevaluate their experiences in Egypt. New thoughts began to germinate in their minds. Surely, the God who was making a mockery of natural law for their sake, the Creator of the heavens and the earth, could not have “forgotten” them. Surely, the God who was now displaying such boundless love for them would not have allowed them to languish for centuries in the misery of Egypt for no purpose. Surely, God’s unseen Presence had been beside them during all their pain and suffering. Unknown to them, He had guided them through the “iron crucible,” as our Sages characterized Egypt, refining them and cleansing them of their baser elements, purifying the core of the people who would stand at Mount Sinai and receive His holy Torah.

Everything they had experienced suddenly had meaning and purpose. In retrospect, the darkest moments of exile were illuminated by their present knowledge. In retrospect, they saw everything as a gateway to freedom. Even the city of Pithom, invested with so much Jewish pain and suffering, became one of the greatest symbols of their ultimate freedom. And thus, they renamed it Pi Hachiros, “the Gateway to Freedom.”
--- End quote ---


http://www.shemayisrael.com/parsha/solomon/archives/vaeschanan69.htm


--- Quote ---Though Moses reminds the Israelites to avoid idolatry by recalling G-d's revelation to the Israelites at Mount Sinai, he emphasizes that they should remain loyal to His Teachings by recalling the servitude and exodus from slavery in Egypt: 'But G-d has taken you and brought you out of the iron crucible of Egypt…' (4:20)

Those who were in their teens at the times of the Exodus (c.f. Num. 14:29) would have recalled that personally. The Ha-Ktav V'Ha-Kabbala explains that the 'iron crucible' - the slavery in Egypt - was a crucial formative period for the Israelites. Without the rigors of Exile, they would not have been willing to accept the Torah which would discipline their natural and habitual desires.

The 'iron crucible' of Egypt may also be a key to a deeper form of observance. When Moses recalls the revelation at Mount Sinai, he is making an intellectual appeal to the Israelites to remain loyal to Him against the background of paganism in the land they were about to enter. Intellectual appeal does go some way, but it does not create the same personal bond as the feeling of love (c.f. Rashi to 6:5) and gratitude. Recalling the hopelessness of slavery and the series of acts of divine intervention creates the feelings of loyalty and appreciation that come from a positive wish to serve G-d, rather than being forced to serve Him and glumly complying.
--- End quote ---

edu:
Muman613 stated:
--- Quote ---The simple answer...

Because Hashem said so... Hashem told Moshe that Paroah would not let them go and would make it harder on the Children of Israel before he went...

Shemot 3:
18. And they will hearken to your voice, and you shall come, you and the elders of Israel, to the king of Egypt, and you shall say to him, 'The Lord God of the Hebrews has happened upon us, and now, let us go for a three days' journey in the desert and offer up sacrifices to the Lord, our God.'
19. However, I know that the king of Egypt will not permit you to go, except through a mighty hand.
20. And I will stretch forth My hand and smite the Egyptians with all My miracles that I will wreak in their midst, and afterwards he will send you out.

One of Rashis comment on 3:19 "I know that the king of Egypt will not permit..." is:

the king of Egypt will not permit you to go: if I do not show him My mighty hand; i.e., as long as I do not show him My mighty hand, he will not let you go.

So my suggestion (according to Rashis comments) is that Hashem wanted Pharoah to resist and make it harder on the Jewish people in order that they should witness the Plagues and the destruction of the Egyptians.
--- End quote ---

Moshe was aware of this prophecy, but nevertheless he complained to G-d about the increase of the persecution of the Israelites after he appeared before the Egyptian king.
It would seem that Moshe initially was under the impression that Pharoah would say no and harden his heart, but would keep the oppression of the nation of Israel at the same level. He was surprised and upset when things had actually gotten worse, being under the impression that it was possible to give the 10 plagues to Egypt without any increase of suffering to the Israelites during his prophetic mission.

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