Exodus 3:18 records God’s instructions to Moses about the first request he is to make to Pharaoh. The elders of Israel will listen to Moses, and together they are to go to the king of Egypt and ask for permission to travel three days into the wilderness to worship the LORD with sacrifices. God speaks these words to Moses at the burning bush, and Moses is the one who will carry the message to Israel’s leaders and then to the Egyptian king.
They will listen to your voice, and you shall come, you and the elders of Israel, to the king of Egypt, and you shall tell him, ‘The LORD, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us. Now please let us go three days’ journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to the LORD, our God.’
Exodus 3:18 (WEB)
What Exodus 3:18 Means
The verse begins with a promise about the response of the people: “They will listen to your voice.” God is telling Moses in advance that the elders will accept his leadership, which matters because Moses has just objected that the people will not believe him. The command that follows, “you shall come, you and the elders of Israel, to the king of Egypt,” sets out a plan that is public and formal, a request made through the recognized leaders of the community before the highest authority in the land.
The heart of the message is the phrase “The LORD, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us.” Moses is to say that the God who has appeared to him is the one who has truly encountered Israel, and that this is the basis for the request. The ask itself is modest in form: a three-day journey into the wilderness to sacrifice. The verse does not promise that Pharaoh will agree, and God says plainly in the next verse that the king will resist. What the verse does promise is that the people will be willing to hear Moses and that God is sending him with a clear and truthful word.
The Context of Exodus 3:18
Exodus is the second book of the Torah, the first five books of the Hebrew Scriptures, traditionally attributed to Moses. It tells how the descendants of Jacob, enslaved in Egypt, are delivered by God and formed into a people with a covenant and a place of worship. The first audience of these words was likely the people of Israel who would later read the book, and the verse also helped them understand how their deliverance began.
The verses just before this one (Exodus 3:15-17) establish that the God speaking is the God of the patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and that he has seen the suffering of Israel and intends to bring them out of Egypt. Verse 18 is the first practical step in that plan. Verses 19 through 21 then give God’s own forecast that Pharaoh will refuse and that his hand will be forced through wonders. Read in that setting, the request for three days is not a sign that God expects an easy negotiation. It is a faithful opening move within a larger purpose that God has already announced.
Key Phrases in Exodus 3:18
Exodus 3:19
I know that the king of Egypt won’t give you permission to go, no, not by a mighty hand.
(WEB)
This verse follows directly after the instructions and gives God’s honest forecast that Pharaoh will refuse. Reading it alongside verse 18 keeps the request in proper perspective, showing that God planned for resistance and never promised a smooth road.
Exodus 4:1
Moses answered, “But, behold, they will not believe me, nor listen to my voice; for they will say, ‘The LORD has not appeared to you.’”
(WEB)
Here Moses voices a fear that the people will not believe him, which echoes the concern God answers in verse 18. Reading the two together shows how God repeatedly meets his servant’s worry with assurance rather than rebuke.
A Short Prayer From Exodus 3:18
Lord, you know the conversations I dread and the people I fear will not listen. Help me to speak what you have given me to say, plainly and without pride, trusting that you go before me. Prepare the hearts of those who need to hear, and give me patience when the answer is slow or no. Keep my purpose focused on worshiping you rather than on winning arguments. Amen.
