God makes his Name known.
God has made his Name (his own Name) known: I am the Lord [Yahweh]
(Exodus 6:2). God also makes known his Name (that is, his reputation): who he is, and how he is. God himself makes his Name known to Moses in Exodus 34:6–7:
The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children's children, to the third and the fourth generation.
God shows his compassion for his people in slavery. God is true to his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Exodus 6:3–4). He forgives sins, but not everything is left unpunished. He let the Pharaoh be forewarned, but now he comes with the punishment.
God shows his power over people, but also over the gods (Exodus 12:12, Numbers 33:4). He shows that he has all the power. See Psalm 135:4. Israel is God’s precious possession. God punishes Egypt (Exodus 7:8–9). He surpasses all gods (Exodus 7:5). Those gods cannot do anything (Exodus 7:15–18), and God shows this and lets them feel this through the ten plagues. This is how God shows his justice and compassion (Exodus 7:14).
To whom does God show his power?
To Egypt and the Pharaoh:
The Egyptians shall know that I am Lord
(Exodus 7:5). The Pharaoh said: Who is the Lord that I should obey his voice? (Exodus 5:2). Now God will show who he is.To all nations: God not only makes himself known to the Pharaoh, but also uses him to make himself known in all the earth (Exodus 9:16, quoted in Romans 9:17). For the effect of the plagues and exodus on other nations, see for example, Exodus 18:9 (Jethro), Joshua 2:9–10 (Canaanites), and 1 Samuel 4:8 (Philistines).
To Israel (Exodus 6:7). Not only the current Israelites, but also the generations to come (Exodus 10:2). In two psalms, we find extensive teachings about the plagues with which the Lord punished Egypt: Psalm 78:1–72 and Psalm 105:1–45. These psalms name the plagues (not all ten, and in a different order) with various purposes.
In Psalm 78:1–72, the rebellion of Israel is accentuated: how very quickly they forgot what God had done in Egypt (Psalm 78:40–52). The purpose is that the people will trust in God and not act as their forefathers did (Psalm 78:6–8).
Psalm 105 is a call to praise God and to speak, filled with praise, about the great wonders he has done (Psalm 105:1–2), such as his wonders in Egypt (Psalm 105:26–28)
2. God forces Pharaoh to let his people go (Exodus 6:1).
The freeing of the slaves does not happen voluntarily, but happens under force. God liberates through his judgment, that is, his power, his righteousness, and his compassion for his suppressed people (compare Psalm 135:14).
1 And the LORD said to Moses, “See, I have made you like God to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron shall be your prophet.