Moses was a good man who lived in Egypt.
The Egyptians had made the people of Israel their slaves, and they were very cruel to them.
Moses grew up in the Pharaoh’s palace
but he felt sorry for the Israelites.
He wanted to help them lead better lives.
One day Moses committed a serious crime, and he was forced to escape from Egypt.
He traveled through the desert for many days and eventually settled in Midian, far far away.
Moses got married to a local woman, and he led the life of a shepherd.
One day, as usual, Moses was tending to some sheep on a hillside.
It was then that God suddenly spoke to him.
He hears a loud booming sound like thunder and he sees that a bush has caught on fire.
There is a semicircle of golden white light surrounding the bush
and Moses hears the voice of God
Moses, I have something to tell you.
Who is that? I cannot see you.
I am Jehovah…
the one true living God, the creator of all living and non-living things.
Why are you speaking to me, God?
Do not fear me. You are a good man and I have a very important task that I need you to perform for me.
I need you to free the people of Israel and lead them to the promised land.
Huh? Why have you chosen me? I am just an ordinary person!
You have a good strong heart and you have great courage.
You may think you are ordinary, but you will do extraordinary things.
And Moses, do not worry, You are not alone. I will be with you every step of the way.
Why would they listen to me? How will they believe that you are with me?
I will give you the power to show signs that I am with you.
Throw your stick to the ground
When Moses threw the stick on the ground, it magically turned into a snake!
Moses was now convinced, and He was ready to follow the orders of God.
As you wish my Lord. I will do as you say.
Ah…Yes, Moses! We haven’t seen you in some time now. What brings you here?
Ramos! I have come to speak on behalf of the Israeli slaves.
They need to be freed. You cannot keep them prisoners like this. They are not slaves!
Oh, but they are, dear Moses.
They will serve the kingdom of Egypt until they die
every last one of them until their very last breath.
Ramos, the God is with them.
He has sent me to free these people. If you do not set the Israelites free, you will invite God’s anger on you.
What God are you talking about?
I have not heard of this God of yours.
Why should I fear him?
He is the one true living God. He is all-powerful and his anger can destroy your kingdom.
Please free them now, so that you don’t feel sorry later
I do not believe in your God.
He has no power in my kingdom.
Show me a sign that your God exists.
Then Moses threw his stick on the ground, and it suddenly turned into a snake!
Hahaha…Nice trick!
The Pharaoh thought that this was just a trick, and he called his magicians.
The court magicians arrived, and when they threw their sticks on the floor, their sticks transformed into snakes as well!
See!
you can't fool me with the cheap magic tricks Moses.
But then, a miracle happened.
Moses’s snakes started swallowing all the other snakes.
The Pharaoh was terrified at first, but then he regained his composure.
That doesn’t mean anything.
Just another magic trick.
Your god is pitiful!
Release the Israelites to me now and my God will show pity on you.
Leave at once Moses!
You are testing my patience now!
Guards…
escort him out at once!
I will leave, but I will be back.
Like that, Moses visited the Pharaoh several times and tried to convince him to free the Israeli slaves.
But the Pharaoh could not be convinced.
One day, Moses went to the desert and asked God what he was supposed to do.
God told Moses that He was going to punish the Egyptians.
God sent the punishments one by one.
First He let a great flood that swallowed the whole city.
Then He sent a devastating drought!
Then He sent locusts that attacked the crops!
Like that God punished the Egyptians several times.
In spite of all this, the Pharaoh was still not ready to free the Israelites.
Moses, why are you wasting our time like this?
Whatever you or your so-called God says
I will not release the Israelites.
They were born to serve this kingdom as slaves nothing can change that.
God wants the Israelites to be free. If you do not follow his will, he will release great plagues on you and your people.
Do not punish yourself and your people with your stupidity.
You have been warned many times. Now face God’s anger.
Moses then went to the Nile river and dipped his staff in the water.
It was a miracle! The Nile water suddenly turned red, and it was blood!
The fish died, and the water began to stink, the whole of Egypt was stinking by now.
Finally, God killed all the firstborn children in Egypt, including the Pharaoh’s son.
This forced the Pharaoh to finally release the slaves.
Moses went to the palace one last time.
Your God has killed my son and all the firstborns in Egypt.
What kind of a God is this?
You brought this on yourself, Ramos. You had been warned so many times.
So many signs were given to you. But you remained stubborn.
You brought all this on your people. Stop this now and send the Israelites to their freedom!
Get out of my palace Moses! And take your slaves with you.
I do not want to see their faces again!
Moses quickly summoned them and led them all out of Egypt, but the Pharaoh changed his mind again.
Moses had finally freed the people from the Pharaoh.
The people were overjoyed that they had finally got their freedom.
But their hardships were only beginning. They had to face many many tough hurdles.
A couple of days after Moses had led the Israelites out of Egypt
the Pharaoh changed his mind yet again and sent his army after Moses to capture them.
When Moses and his people arrived at the Red sea, they had no idea how to cross the water.
Pharaoh's army was fast approaching from behind, and the people were scared!
God helped Moses again, by dividing the sea and creating a path through it.
Moses and his people walked through the seabed, and crossed the Red Sea!
But when Pharaoh and his army tried to cross the sea, the water came crashing upon them, and killed all of them!
The evil Pharaoh finally got the punishment he deserved.
After crossing the Red Sea, Moses continued to lead the people
It was a long journey and Moses took his people across the desert.
The people were losing their patience. They started complaining to Moses.
Moses, we have been traveling for so long now.
Will we ever reach the promised land?
Have faith in God. He has freed you from the Egyptians, now he will lead you to your promised land.
So many people have died along the way, Moses.
We were better off in Egypt as slaves of the Pharaoh.
At least we would not have died of hunger and fatigue.
A lot of children are also sick.
We have so many old people who cannot walk with us.
Should we watch our children die before our eyes?
Is this what you promised?
We should not have trusted you.
You have led us into death!
I am saddened by your lack of trust.
I have faith in my Lord. It is this faith that keeps me going forward.
God is always with us. He will never leave us. Trust in him and you will not feel weak!
And so they kept walking ahead through the desert.
God kept watch over them.
When there was nothing to eat in the desert and they were hungry
God showered a sweet bread known as Manna on them.
When they were thirsty, he gave them water from rocks.
After many months of traveling through the desert, they arrived at the foot of Mount Sinai.
This was where God had told Moses to bring the people.
They camped at the foot of the mountain and decided to rest for a few days before continuing their journey across the desert.
Moses told the people to stay at the bottom of the mountain and he climbed up the mountain to speak to God.
When he reached the mountain top, God spoke to Moses.
God spoke to Moses for 40 days and 40 nights.
He finally gave Moses a stone tablet that described the Ten Commandments that his people would have to follow
for their entire lives.
God gave the following commandments to Moses:
One: "Thou Shall Have No Gods Before Me"
Two: "Thou Shalt Not Make Graven Images"
Three: "Thou Shalt Not Take the Lord's Name in Vain"
Four: "Remember to Keep Holy the Sabbath"
Five: "Honor Thy Father and Thy Mother"
Six: "Thou Shalt Not Kill"
Seven: "Thou Shalt Not Commit Adultery"
Eight: "Thou Shalt Not Steal"
Nine: "Thou Shalt Not Bear False Witness"
Ten: "Thou Shalt Not Covet"
God made these commandments to ensure that men and women lived in harmony and lived peaceful and happy lives.