31 And he called for Moses and Aaron by night, and said, Rise up, and get you forth from among my people, both ye and the children of Israel; and go, serve the Lord, as ye have said.

32 Also take your flocks and your herds, as ye have said, and be gone; and bless me also.

33 And the Egyptians were urgent upon the people, that they might send them out of the land in haste; for they said, We be all dead men.

It seems to me that Verse 31 is saying that Pharaoh did not even wait for the next morning to speak with Moses and Aaron. That he called for them by night seems to suggest it was within mere hours of discovering that his own firstborn had been slain, and also all the other firstborn of Egypt.

Pharaoh had previously declared that he and Moses would never again see each other face-to-face and Moses had agreed. So while it says that he called for Moses and Aaron, and gave them permission to take the Israelites out into the wilderness, I wonder if all this was relayed by a spokesperson, or whether Pharaoh kept his back to the prophet.

In any case, Pharaoh delivered very few words to the prophet. He only said enough to show that he was finally fully complying with the demands of the Lord. He was allowing for the men, the women, the children, the flocks and the herds to leave, the entire group with no exceptions. For the first time he was not trying to limit or compromise or go back on his word.

At the very end of his declaration he also made one small petition, “and bless me also.” This is a brief and piteous request, and I wonder if God would have granted it. However, as we will soon see, Pharaoh nullified any potential act of mercy by trying to wage war with the Israelites one last time.

For now, though, all of Egypt was united in its desire to be rid of the Israelites. It says that they were “urgent upon the people,” pushing them out in haste. Such a turn of events! Where once the Egyptians had refused to let the Israelites go, now they absolutely required it! This shows greater power in God than if He had slain every Egyptian and brought Israel out of the ruin. It is one thing to force someone to do something against their will, but it is a much more significant thing to change their will to your own.