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The Passover account is an interesting read. The author of Exodus skillfully weaves the liturgy of the Passover around the actual narrative account of the first Passover. This reality invites us to read the Passover as though we are present in Egypt when God delivered his people from slavery.

1) The very fact that we have liturgy embedded in a narrative has implications for our reading of this text. This is not merely history as a testimony about the passage. This is a narrative about the past that invites its hearers/readers into the events themselves so that they can be experienced anew by the present generation who will then embody this Mosaic ethos for the world.

2) Event as it really happened cannot be strictly separated from event as actualized in the worshipping community. The God who destroyed the Firstborn of Egypt is the same who saves us today. The question of historicity does matter in all of this, but equally important is the question of significance in the present. Passover is not recorded for antiquarian reasons. It is kerygma that seeks to shape a community.

3) Passover as a ritual of conversion. By the time that the readers of Exodus arrive at Sinai with the original generation and hear the words, “You have seen what I did to the Egyptians and how I carried you on eagle’s wings and brought you to myself” (Exod 19:4), they have been converted to the people of God through participation in the Passover liturgy in which past, present, and future generations are intermingled into a one people of God.

4) Passover as ritual of confirmation. Since participation was limited to circumcised males, this implies some sort of commitment to the community of God’s people. Participation in the Passover celebration confirms and renews persons into a new reality.

5) Passover as Proclamation. The Passover is a form of proclamation and witness to the world by the people of God. As we will see, Israel will be called to serve God as a “kingdom of priests and a holy nation” (Exod 19:4-6). Passover becomes a yearly festival in which the nation shuts down for a time to remember and reenact God’s deliverance of God’s people from Egypt. This serves as a witness to resident aliens and workers who are present. It is worth pondering that the Apostle Paul picks up this thread in 1 Cor 11:26 “For every time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you are announcing/proclaiming the Lord’s death until he comes again.”

What else might you add?

I received the following question from a friend serving in Switzerland:
One of my youth asked me why we still follow some OT traditions and not others. I think this stemmed from why we don’t follow the food rules in Leviticus, but homosexuality is often not accepted in Christian churches. Although I know that in Acts Peter is told in a dream that what God has made clean, man shall not call unclean and that Paul makes several references in the NT to homosexuality being sinful (so, these issues are addressed in the NT as well), but I couldn’t really answer his larger question (or really his more specific question well). Can you please help me with this! Thank you!

The relationship between the OT and NT is a major question in biblical theology. The relationship is dynamic. Jesus certainly fulfills Israel’s Scriptures through his life, death, and resurrection, but this should not be interpreted to mean that he has ended the prescriptive force of the OT Scriptures. In general, there has been a distinction between the moral laws of the OT and its ceremonial laws. So for example, the dietary laws and laws about clean/unclean have lost their binding normative force on the follower of Jesus. This does not mean that these ancient laws are meaningless, but does mean that there original specific meaning is no longer binding.

The moral laws (for example, those on human sexuality as you mentioned) are still valid because the NT affirms these. One of the issues that we want to consider is the issue of consistency between the Testaments. If something is affirmed in both, it remains normative.

Does this mean that the OT is no longer meaningful unless the NT affirms it? No, this is not what I am saying. There are some elements of the OT that are simply assumed in the NT (for example, God’s majesty, human sinfulness, the importance of Scripture, a doctrine of Creation, etc.). In general, Jesus’ critique of the OT law was rooted in the practices that excluded persons from receiving God’s grace within the community of faith: dietary laws, clean/unclean, rules based on ethnicity, etc. The broad moral categories continue to carry normative force for contemporary communities of faith. In fact, the OT plays a vital role in helping faith communities understand the social justice implications of the Gospel.

A final note: I find a missional approach to Scripture to open up fresh insights to your question. Why would God have prescribed certain elements (food, ceremonial, etc) for Israel that may not remain normative for later followers? My answer: The mission of God’s people is to serve as a witness to the Nations by reflecting God’s character to/for/in human culture. This means that certain practices will be emphasized/regulated at discrete times for the sake of witness. Israel needed to be distinguished clearly from the other nations to point to the truth and reality of Israel’s God therefore God gave Israel the Law. This does not mean that the Laws are inherently relative. I am not saying this. Rather the principles embedded in the Law reflect the true desire and character of the LORD and can be separated from the original literal practice in order to applied to new settings as God’s Kingdom comes into contact with diverse cultures.

Additionally, I wrote about interpreting the slave laws in Exodus 21:1-11 elsewhere on this blog. Check it out for additional reflection on your question.

Finally, here is a broad statement that I make about the role of the Sinai laws in the Scriptures:

Israel’s Legal Materials Establish an Ethos of Holiness for God’s People.
It may come as a surprise to many that the Law also serves a missional role. Israel’s legal materials, forever wed to Moses and his encounters with God on Mount Sinai/Horeb, establish an ethos for God’s people. Rather than lifting up legalism as the legacy of Israel, the Torah of Moses was to create a missional environment for God’s people to embody. The laws in all of their variety and strangeness (from our modern perspective) served to insert the character of God into all aspects of Israel’s corporate life. Israel’s lifestyle was to be a living testimony to the character of her God before the rest of the nations of earth. This is not to say that Israel was completely unique from other nations in every aspect of her life. Rather as a whole Israel was to witness uniquely to the unbelievable life that was possible only under the care of the Creator God. The Torah was never the means of Israel’s salvation. It was Israel’s response to the grace of God in delivering her from Egypt and all future enemies.

Over the next few days, I will post commentary on Leviticus 25:8-24. Here are notes on verses 8-12:

8 In addition, you must count off seven Sabbath years, seven sets of seven years, adding up to forty-nine years in all. 9 Then on the Day of Atonement in the fiftieth year,[a] blow the ram’s horn loud and long throughout the land. 10 Set this year apart as holy, a time to proclaim freedom throughout the land for all who live there. It will be a jubilee year for you, when each of you may return to the land that belonged to your ancestors and return to your own clan. 11 This fiftieth year will be a jubilee for you. During that year you must not plant your fields or store away any of the crops that grow on their own, and don’t gather the grapes from your unpruned vines. 12 It will be a jubilee year for you, and you must keep it holy. But you may eat whatever the land produces on its own.

Leviticus 25:8-12

Moses received the law of the Jubilee from the LORD on Mount Sinai (Lev 25:1). This claim recurs throughout Leviticus (1:1, etc.) and is important because it heightens the authority of the law. The regulations around Jubilee come from the LORD and must be received as the word of God.

Jubilee falls on the completion of a seven year cycle of Sabbath years. This number is significant. As noted above, seven is linked with Sabbath. The new community that the LORD is creating through Israel lives to fulfill God’s original intentions in Creation (Gen 1:1-2:3). The Sabbath is a witness to creation that a God-given and modeled rest is the final word on creation. It is a proclamation that justice and peace have been woven into the very fabric of the world that the LORD has made.

Moreover, by occurring every 50 years, Jubilee assures each generation that there will be a society-wide economic reset during its lifetime. Jubilee prevented the permanent economic ruin of families. In ancient times as today, debt was a serious problem. But in the ancient world, debtors did not have recourse to bankruptcy laws for protection from creditors and could easily find themselves forced to sell the family’s land and in some cases even sell themselves as slaves in order to pay off indebtedness. Thus, Jubilee was a time in which land returned to its original recipients, slaves were released, and debts were forgiven.

Biblical scholars are divided over the precise nature of the counting of years. Some argue that the fiftieth year was the first year following the seventh Sabbatical year. Others suggest that the fiftieth year was symbolic and was in reality the close of the forty-ninth year from the Day of Atonement (tenth day of seventh month) forward (25:9). In favor of the first option is that this is the straightforward reading of the text (see also comments below on 25:18-22). In favor of the second is the problem presented by not cultivating crops for two straight years (no harvest during the seventh Sabbatical year or during the year of Jubilee)—a lack of food.

The commencement of Jubilee is announced by a loud trumpet blast on the Day of Atonement throughout the land. The Day of Atonement (Lev 16) was a key holy day for God’s people. The priests performed rituals of purification for God’s people. The sins of the community were symbolically carried away from the people through the expulsion of a scapegoat from the community. It is thus fitting that Jubilee would begin on a day centered on the removal of sin and injustice from God’s people.

Jubilee was sacred (25:10). Sometimes we mistakenly separate the sacred from everyday life. The year of Jubilee boldly proclaims that lives of true holiness embody justice for the poor and marginalized of society. Jubilee announces liberty. Liberty here is not restricted only to the well to do. It is a liberty that specifically affects the underclass—those who have experienced severe dislocation and economic instability. The same word is found in Isa 61:1—The Spirit of the LORD is upon me because the LORD has anointed me; he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed, to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and release to the prisoners. Jesus began his public ministry by reciting these very words (Luke 4:18). It is a liberty that frees its beneficiaries to lives fully as the people whom God created them to be.

Each person was to return to the land that was given to his or her family and clan at the time that Israel entered the land of Canaan (Num 34). Private property rights did not exist in ancient Israel. Each family/clan/tribe served as stewards of the land. Land could be bought or sold, but it was done so with the understanding that it would revert to its original recipient during the year of Jubilee. In other words, the purchase of land was more of a leasing than an actual permanent transfer of property rights.

The year of Jubilee was celebrated in a manner similar to the Sabbath year (25:4-5). God’s people were not to sow or harvest (verses 11-12). Since agriculture was the principal vocation of almost everyone, the year of Jubilee was a year of rest from labor. However, this was also a profound act of faith. By refraining from planting and reaping, God’s people were trusting in God’s provision for their food.

Sacred rituals are crucial for shaping God’s people to embody God’s character and to serve as a witness to the world. Our Scripture lesson focuses on the Passover festival as described in the book of Deuteronomy. The power of the Passover is found in its ability to ground the community in past as a means to living faithfully in the present and preparing for the future.

Deuteronomy 16:1-8
1 Observe the month of Abib and celebrate the Passover of the LORD your God, because in the month of Abib he brought you out of Egypt by night. 2 Sacrifice as the Passover to the LORD your God an animal from your flock or herd at the place the LORD will choose as a dwelling for his Name. 3 Do not eat it with bread made with yeast, but for seven days eat unleavened bread, the bread of affliction, because you left Egypt in haste-so that all the days of your life you may remember the time of your departure from Egypt. 4 Let no yeast be found in your possession in all your land for seven days. Do not let any of the meat you sacrifice on the evening of the first day remain until morning.
5 You must not sacrifice the Passover in any town the LORD your God gives you 6 except in the place he will choose as a dwelling for his Name. There you must sacrifice the Passover in the evening, when the sun goes down, on the anniversary of your departure from Egypt. 7 Roast it and eat it at the place the LORD your God will choose. Then in the morning return to your tents. 8 For six days eat unleavened bread and on the seventh day hold an assembly to the LORD your God and do no work.

Our Scripture lessons falls within a larger segment (16:1-17), which includes instructions for three annual, national festivals: Passover or Unleavened Bread (vv. 1-8), Feast of Weeks (vv. 9-12), and the Feast of the Tabernacles (vv. 13-17). These three festivals are related to the agricultural cycle of the year. But most importantly, these represent three opportunities to connect the passing of time with the saving work of the LORD. Instead of the annual events of agricultural life being viewed as an endless cycle, these festivals root Israel’s life in the land with God’s missional plans for creation and remind God’s people of the formative events that gave them life.

Verse 1 provides the time and rationale for the celebration of the Passover. Passover is celebrated in the month of Abib. Abib is the first month in the year for the ancient Israelites. This is significant because it declares that Israel’s life together is established by the actions that Passover celebrates. Passover is the celebration of the Exodus from Egypt. As we have seen this quarter, the Exodus was the foundational event for God’s people in the Old Testament. The Exodus was so crucial for the self-understanding of God’s people that its celebration falls at the beginning of the year. In the United States, we celebrate our Independence as a secular nation on July 4 at midyear. The celebration of Israel’s deliverance was so foundational that Israel structured the very manner that it kept time around its salvation from Egypt.

Passover is fundamentally the time when the people of God remember their deliverance from Egypt. They remember and celebrate the salvation of God. The language in v. 1 is intentional: the LORD your God brought you out of Egypt by night. Israel exists by the grace and power of the LORD.

The first Passover is narrated in the book of Exodus (12:1-13:16). These verses alternate between instructions for celebrating the Passover with the actual story of God’s climatic act in delivering Israel from Egypt. The Passover represented the tenth sign that God performed against Egypt to secure the release of God’s people from unjust servitude to Pharaoh and his people. In the original Passover, each Israelite family was to gather in its home. They were to slaughter and roast a one-year old male lamb. They were to take some of the lamb’s blood and mark the top and sides of the door in the place where they would eat the Passover meal. Moreover, they were to eat the meal in haste with unleavened bread and while fully clothed. They needed to be prepared to leave Egypt at a moment’s notice. During the evening at midnight as God’s people ate the Passover meal, the LORD struck down the firstborn of Egypt. The name Passover alludes to God’s passing over or by the homes of the Israelites, which were marked with blood. Only those firstborn in homes left unmarked were targeted for death. This terrifying act of judgment against Egypt served as the climactic action that won Israel’s release from Egypt. Pharaoh summoned Moses in the middle of the night and released God’s people for immediate departure.

The celebration of Passover serves to recreate the original event to unite present and future generations of God’s people to their reason for being: the Exodus from Egypt. The analogous ritual in the Christian church is the LORD’s Supper. This ritual calls to mind the sacrificial death of Jesus as the foundation for our life with God. It is a call to center our lives on the cross of Jesus.

Verses 2-8 offer specific instructions on the proper way to celebrate the feast of the Passover. Verse 2 focuses on the sacrifice. In Exodus, a one year old male goat was the expected sacrifice. Deuteronomy is not as specific and opens up the possibility of using an animal from the flock or herd.

The key statements in verse 2 focus on the subject of the sacrifice and the proper place for the Passover celebration. The Passover sacrifice is for the LORD. Passover is fundamentally about and for God. It is a community celebration by the people but its focus is God and specifically God’s salvation and creation of the people of God. Deuteronomy also prescribes a centralized celebration of Passover. The Passover is to be held at the place that the LORD will choose as a dwelling for his name. In Exodus, the Passover meal was held in the homes of individual Israelite families (Exod 12:1-11). Deuteronomy envisions a shift for the Passover celebration once Israel gains entrance into the Promised Land. All Israel will gather at the central sanctuary and celebrate together. Deuteronomy is not referring to any particular geographical location at this point. In Exodus 25-31 and 35-40, the LORD provided instructions for the construction of the Tabernacle. The Tabernacle was a portable tent shrine that accompanied Israel during its movements to the Promised Land. Once in Canaan, the Tabernacle continued to move to different locations among God’s people (2 Sam 7:6) until coming to rest in Jerusalem during the reign of David. When Solomon completed the LORD’s temple (1 Kings 8), the Tabernacle was incorporated in the Temple itself.

The only reference to Passover after Joshua 5:10-11 occurs during the time of Josiah (late 7th century B.C.) in 2 Kings 23:21-23. By this time, the central sanctuary was well-established as the temple in Jerusalem. Jerusalem was also the site of the Passover during the time of Jesus (Luke 2:41).

The Passover meal was a reenactment of the original meal. As such, it involved multi-sensory elements. One of the principal acts of Passover was the avoidance of yeast-based products. There is nothing intrinsically wrong with yeast, but God’s people were to avoid it for one reason—Passover is about readiness. People who eat leavened bread have time to wait for the dough to rise before baking it. God’s people had no such luxury on the night that the LORD delivered Israel from Egypt. On that night, God’s people had to eat their food hastily. This meant that there was no time for fluffy leavened bread or any other food that required yeast for its cooking process.

The annual feast expanded the use of unleavened bread for a full week. This served as a reminder for God’s people of the preparation and waiting for God’s decisive acts of salvation. The week also provided a time for intensive reflection and teaching on the meaning of the LORD’s Passover. In our study last week on Deuteronomy 6, we reflected on the necessity of passing on the life of faithful obedience to the emerging generations. Passover was a mandated time for such instruction. In the Book of Exodus’ description of the Passover event and celebration, opportunities for teaching children are provided for in the instructions themselves (12:26-27, 13:8, and 13:14). The consumption of unleavened bread had the power to transform the community by (re)instilling God’s people with the story of their salvation. In Deuteronomy 6, we saw that God’s people were to be ever mindful of the command to love God wholeheartedly. In Exod 13:9, the language describing the eating of unleavened bread suggests its power to ingrain a God-centered mindfulness in the people: It shall serve for you as a sign on your hand and as a reminder on your forehead, so that the teaching of the LORD may be on your lips; for with a strong hand the LORD brought you out of Egypt.

Unleavened bread is given the name bread of affliction. This is significant. The unleavened bread that the people will consume each day is to serve as tangible reminder of the oppression in Egypt. By eating the bread of affliction, the community becomes the original Passover generation and so connects anew with the LORD who delivered God’s people from Egypt. It serves to keep God’s people mindful of the LORD’s salvation for all the days of [their] life.

Yeast is forbidden anywhere in Israel’s territory for the seven days. Notice the language: No leaven shall be seen with you. The Passover celebration is part of the visible witness that God’s people manifest to the watching world and to their own children. Passover was reserved only for God’s people (Exod 12:43-45) so there would be non-followers of the LORD present in the land who would be watching the celebration as well as the nations that surrounded Israel. Also, within the community, if it is to teach faithful obedience to the LORD, it is vital for each member of the community to uphold the values and instructions of the Passover celebration.

Verse 4 also reminds God’s people that they must consume all of the meat of the sacrifice in one night. This regulation is part of recapturing the original event and the hastiness of the meal. It is also a reminder that the Passover was an act on one night in the life of Israel. There can only be a single meal. Thus, all of the meat was eaten or any remaining meat was burned up in the morning.

Verses 5-7 emphasize again (v. 2) the proper location for celebrating Passover. Passover was a national celebration. Israel was now dwelling in the land of Canaan. This meant that they were spread out over a significant portion of territory. The risk was the fragmentation of community. Israel existed as the whole people of God. In the original celebration of Passover as noted above, each family celebrated Passover in its own home. But what is easily missed is that all Israel lived in close proximity in one particular part of Egypt-the land of Goshen. Thus even on the night of the original Passover, all God’s people were able to meet together to slaughter their lambs as a communal act (Exod 12:6). Thus, Deuteronomy calls all Israel to come together as the visible people of God to celebrate and remember the core act of their salvation and existence as God’s people in the Promised Land. In practical terms, this meant that Passover was forbidden in all of Israel’s towns except for the place where God chose as a dwelling for his name (see above).

Verse 6 emphasizes again the timing of the sacrifice. Passover was to be celebrated precisely at sunset-the time of the original Passover sacrifice. Verse 7 suggests that all Israel then enjoyed the feast together before returning to the family tent.

Verse 8 concludes the description of the Passover celebration by linking it with the seven day cycle of the Sabbath. The week long observance of Passover ends on the Sabbath when the gathered community worships the LORD and enjoys their status as the redeemed people of God by refraining from work.

What do you think?

You can also check out my post on the Passover texts in Exodus

Here is more commentary on the book of Exodus:

5:22 Moses returned to the LORD and said, “O Lord, why have you brought trouble upon this people? Is this why you sent me? 23 Ever since I went to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has brought trouble upon this people, and you have not rescued your people at all.”
6:1 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh: Because of my mighty hand he will let them go; because of my mighty hand he will drive them out of his country.”

Exod 5:22-6:1 Moses Complains
In these verses, Moses goes to the only character in the narrative with the power to change the present and shape a new future for the people-the LORD. Pharaoh has demonstrated that he will be harsh, brutal, and stubborn. But God has indeed come to deliver Israel.

Moses prays to God (5:22-23). His manner of prayer is instructive. His words are void of the typical clichés that are deployed in prayer. Instead, Moses chooses a riskier path. He speaks his mind to God. He has heard God’s promises to deliver Israel but salvation has not materialized. Instead, Israel has now been delivered more deeply into the hands of Pharaoh. So Moses laments the plight of Israel and raises questions about his calling.

But Moses’ prayer demonstrates that he recognizes the true authority in the narrative. Pharaoh is daunting, but he is not god. He is a mere pretender to God’s throne. Moses is frustrated and has suffered a setback, but he has not changed his allegiance. He is an agent in God’s mission. He simply needs reassurance from God.

In contrast to Pharaoh and to the Israelite supervisors, Moses is clear about two key realities. First, Israel does not belong to Pharaoh. Israel is the people of God. Pharaoh’s claims are illegitimate. Unlike the Israelite supervisors who understand themselves as “Pharaoh’s servants” (5:16), Moses specifically refers to Israel as “your [i.e., God’s] people.”

Second, Moses understands his work as a calling from God. It is God who has sent him. Moreover, Moses recognizes that his vocation is “to speak in your [i.e., God’s] name.” In other words, in contrast to the cynicism of Pharaoh who viewed the call for the release of Israel as ploy to spare Israel from work (5:4-5, 17) and Moses’ words as “deceptive” (5:9), Moses recognizes that his calling is to serve as God’s human agent before Pharaoh.

God’s response (6:1) is direct. Deliverance is coming. God will indeed act mightily against Pharaoh. Pharaoh will be forced to release Israel into the service of God. In fact, he will drive them out of the land. The reader of Exodus will also remember that God never promised Moses that the deliverance of Israel would be easy. God has predicted ominously in 3:19 “that the king of Egypt will not let you go unless compelled by a mighty hand.” This reality is coming to pass. It remains for Moses to focus on serving God faithfully and refusing to submit to the competing authority represented by the stubborn and cruel Pharaoh.

After rejecting the demand to release Israel, Pharaoh cracks down on God’s people. He moves to break their spirit and resolidify his own rule. These notes continue a study of the Pentateuch that I am writing for a Sunday school curriculum.

10 Then the slave drivers and the foremen went out and said to the people, “This is what Pharaoh says: ‘I will not give you any more straw. 11 Go and get your own straw wherever you can find it, but your work will not be reduced at all.’ ” 12 So the people scattered all over Egypt to gather stubble to use for straw. 13 The slave drivers kept pressing them, saying, “Complete the work required of you for each day, just as when you had straw.” 14 The Israelite foremen appointed by Pharaoh’s slave drivers were beaten and were asked, “Why didn’t you meet your quota of bricks yesterday or today, as before?”
15 Then the Israelite foremen went and appealed to Pharaoh: “Why have you treated your servants this way? 16 Your servants are given no straw, yet we are told, ‘Make bricks!’ Your servants are being beaten, but the fault is with your own people.”
17 Pharaoh said, “Lazy, that’s what you are—lazy! That is why you keep saying, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to the LORD.’ 18 Now get to work. You will not be given any straw, yet you must produce your full quota of bricks.”
19 The Israelite foremen realized they were in trouble when they were told, “You are not to reduce the number of bricks required of you for each day.” 20 When they left Pharaoh, they found Moses and Aaron waiting to meet them, 21 and they said, “May the LORD look upon you and judge you! You have made us a stench to Pharaoh and his officials and have put a sword in their hand to kill us.”

Exod 5:10-21
Pharaoh’s new policy toward Israel and brick making has swift and predictable results. The added burden of gathering their own straw was too much for the Israelites. They scattered across the land looking for straw. But it was of no avail. Pharaoh’s demands were ruthless and unfair. It was simply not possible to keep up the same production numbers without easy access to straw.

Pharaoh’s own stubbornness and unyielding brutality is brought into clear light. Despite the pleas of even the Egyptian-appointed supervisors, Pharaoh refuses to relent in his demands for the same number of bricks.

Pharaoh’s strategy works. The Israelites are broken. The cries and protests of the Israelite supervisors are telling. Observe carefully their language: Why do you treat your servants like this? No straw is given to your servants, yet they say to us, ‘Make bricks!’ Look how your servants are beaten! You are unjust to your own people (verses 15-16). Three times they identify themselves as “your servants” i.e., “servants of Pharaoh” and once they call themselves “your own people.” These are the words of capitulation. The Israelites are not the servants of Pharaoh; they are servants of God. They are not Pharaoh’s people; they are God’s people.

Pharaoh’s response to the verbal surrender by the Israelites is only derision and brutality (verses 17-18). Pharaoh publicly charges the people with laziness. He also refuses to lighten the load.

The reason for Pharaoh’s cruelty must be remembered. The goal of Israel’s labor was never merely the completion of tasks for Pharaoh. The true goal of the oppressive labor was the destruction of Israel’s ability to threaten Egypt’s security and sovereignty (1:6-11 and 5:3).

In verse 19, we are told of the plight of the Israelites. They recognized the gravity of their situation. They would not be able to sustain their brick production. They would likely be worked to death.

As they left the presence of Pharaoh, they ran into Moses and Aaron (verses 20-21). They unleashed a protest of curses against Moses and Aaron. In their view, Moses and Aaron were responsible for their current plight.

Unwittingly, the actions of Moses and Aaron did indeed serve as the immediate cause of Israel’s troubles. Despite their faithfulness to the mission of God, Moses and Aaron had made the lives of Israel worse than they had been before. This was a reasonable conclusion based on the realities on the ground, but it was a flawed conclusion because it neglected one key fact: the LORD the God of Israel had indeed sent Moses and Aaron and this God was determined, ready, and willing to deliver Israel from oppression.
But at this juncture in the narrative, it was an open for question for Moses, Aaron, and all Israel: Where is God?