וידבר ד' אל משה בעצם היום הזה
The phrase, b’etzem hayom hazeh, on that very day, appears three times in the Torah, each time indicating that large masses of people were prepared to impede Hashem’s decree from being carried out. Thus, to demonstrate that He was in charge – and not the people – Hashem ordered that it be done in the middle of the day, in plain view of everyone. Let them see that no one – absolutely no one – has the power to prevent Hashem’s word from being carried out. The first time was when the people of the dor ha’mabul were bent on…
