Jews had to be forced to accept G-d

 Netziv (Shemos 13:9): Don’t be surprised that G d requires us to do so many mitzvos and techniques to acquire bitachon and emuna  in G d’s Providence. The fact is that it is known that the Jews do not readily accept authority until they are forced as we see by the plagues. That is why G d took us out of Egypt with a strong hand because it was not easy for us to accept His dominance. This is seen in the medrash which discusses, “The Jews did not listen to Moshe because of their irritability and stress of their enslavement.”  The medrash explains that they didn’t want to listen because they were immersed in idol worship.  In other words, the medrash means that in fact they did not want to be redeemed.