god's chosen people
the israelites were being held in brutal
bondage and forced
slavery under the egyptian king pharaoh
god saw their pain and suffering and
sent moses
and his brother aaron to lead his people
out of
egypt to a wonderful and good land
moses and aaron went before pharaoh and
told him
god says let my people go
but pharaoh's heart was hard and he
would not allow them to go
god knew pharaoh's heart was stubborn
and hard so
he began to send plagues on the people
of
egypt this was the only way the king of
egypt
and his people would acknowledge that
god was the one
true and mighty god the first five
plagues were the plague of blood
the plague of frogs the plague of gnats
the plague of flies
and the plague on livestock each time
moses warned pharaoh of the plague that
he would bring upon the land of egypt
and each time even though there was much
damage and destruction to pharaoh
and the people of egypt the king would
harden his heart
and refuse to let the israelites go
but god was not finished with the king
of egypt and his people
moses continued to listen to god and
obey his commands
the lord said to moses and aaron take
handfuls of soot from a furnace
and in the presence of pharaoh and his
officials toss it into the air
it will be as fine dust and it will
settle on men and festering boils will
break out
all over their bodies the next day
moses and aaron did as the lord
commanded and
terrible festering boils broke out all
over the bodies of the men
still pharaoh hardened his heart and
would not let the israelites go
then the lord told moses get up early in
the morning
and go to pharaoh and say this is what
the lord
the god of the hebrews says let
my people go so that they may worship me
or this time i will send the full force
of my plagues against you
and all your people so that you will
know
there is no one like me in all the earth
by now i could have struck you with a
plague that would have wiped you
and your people off the earth for this
reason i have let you live
in order to show you my power and to
proclaim my name
over all the earth but you still
have hardened your heart and refused to
let my people go
therefore tomorrow i will send the worst
hailstorm
that egypt has ever seen
the next day god commanded moses to
stretch out his staff toward the sky
the lord sent thunder and hail and
lightning flashed
down to the ground throughout egypt hail
struck everything growing in the fields
and stripped
every freestanding the only thing that
wasn't ruined was the wheat and spelt
because
they had not ripened yet but the land of
goshen
where the israelites lived was not
touched
pharaoh summoned moses and aaron and
said
this time i have sinned the lord is
righteous and i and my people are the
wicked ones
please call upon the lord to stop the
thunder and hail and
i will let you go so moses left and went
before god
immediately the thunder stopped and the
rain and hail quit pouring down on egypt
when pharaoh saw this he once again
sinned
and refused to let the israelites go
this time the lord said to moses i have
hardened the hearts of pharaoh and his
officials
so that i may perform these miraculous
signs
and you can tell your children and
grandchildren how i
brought all these devastating plagues
upon the egyptians
and you will know that i am the lord
so moses and aaron went to pharaoh and
said
this is what the lord the god of the
hebrew says
how long will you refuse to humble
yourself before me
if you refuse to let my people go i will
send locusts
into your country tomorrow they will be
so thick
you will not even be able to see the
ground they will devour what little you
have left in the fields
they will fill your houses covering
everything you own
when moses left pharaoh all of pharaoh's
officials said to him
how long will you let this man do this
to us we beg you to let his people go
don't you realize that egypt is ruined
in response pharaoh went to moses and
said
go take your people and worship the lord
your god but when moses told pharaoh
that all the israelites would be leaving
he became very angry he cried
you are planting evil against me you may
go
but you can only take your men so moses
and aaron
left pharaoh god then told moses to
stretch out his staff
over the land and the lord caused an
east wind
to blow over the land of egypt from
morning to night
with the wind came the locusts they came
in such
great numbers that the ground turned
black
they ate everything in the fields that
was left from the hail
nothing green remained on the ground or
the trees
in all of egypt then pharaoh very
quickly
summoned moses and aaron and pleaded i
have sinned
against the lord your god and against
you now forgive my sin once more
pray to the lord your god to take this
deadly plague
away from me as soon as moses prayed to
god
he changed the direction of the wind to
a very strong
west wind which picked up the locusts
and carried them off to the red
sea not one locus could be found
anywhere
in egypt but the lord hardened pharaoh's
heart
and he refused to let the israelites go
then the lord told moses stretch out
your hand
to the sky so that darkness will cover
the land of egypt
for three days it was so dark that
no one could see anyone else and they
did not leave their homes
but all the israelites had light in the
places
where they lived pharaoh summoned moses
and cried
go worship the lord even your women and
children may go
but leave your flocks and herds behind
but moses demanded you must allow our
livestock to go with us
not a hoof must be left behind for we
will need some of them to worship the
lord our god
now pharaoh became very angry and
shouted at moses get out of my
sight do not ever appear before me again
the day you see my face you will die
it will be just as you say moses replied
i will never appear before you again
now the lord came to moses and said i
will bring one more plague on pharaoh
and egypt
this time he will let you go and drive
you out of egypt completely
by now moses was greatly respected by
the people of egypt
so moses instructed all the israelites
to go to their egyptian neighbors
and ask for silver and gold to take with
them
on their way out of egypt finally
moses spoke before pharaoh this
is what the lord says at midnight
i will go throughout the land of egypt
every firstborn son in egypt will die
from the firstborn son of pharaoh who
sits on the throne
to the firstborn son of the slave girl
that sits behind the millstone
even the firstborn of the cattle will
die
there will be a great cry in all the
land of egypt that has never been heard
before
and will never be heard again
but not one child or animal of the sons
of israel will be hurt
and by this you will know
how the lord distinguishes between the
people of israel
and the egyptians then all your
officials and servants
will bow down before me and beg me to
leave
and take all my people with me
after that moses hot with anchor
left pharaoh then god spoke to moses and
aaron
go before all the people of israel and
give them these instructions to prepare
them to leave egypt
each family is to select a lamb without
blemish from among their herds
at twilight they are to kill the lamb
take the blood
and wipe it on the sides and tops of the
door frames
of all the houses of the israelites
every family is to roast and eat the
meat with their clothes
and shoes on when midnight comes
i will go through the land of egypt and
strike down all the firstborn of both
man and animals i will execute judgment
on them all
for i am the lord when i
see the blood on your doorposts of your
houses
i will pass over you and no plague will
destroy your firstborn
when i strike the land of egypt
at midnight on the appointed day the
lord
came and passed through egypt
all the firstborn sons in egypt were
struck down
the wailing and cries were heard in
every house throughout the night
even the firstborn of their livestock
died that night
but the lord passed over the houses of
the sons of israel
and spared their lives pharaoh
urgently summoned moses and aaron during
the night and pleaded
get up and leave from among my people
and go worship the lord as you want
take your herds and flocks and go
the egyptian people were so anxious to
see the israelites leave
they gave them gold silver and clothing
as they prepared to leave on their
journey
to worship god at last
moses aaron and all the israelite people
were released by pharaoh to leave the
land of
egypt from that day forward
every year in the same month the
israelites
observed the feast of passover which was
a time to remember
when god passed over their houses and
spared
their firstborn children because of the
blood
on their doorposts
[Music]
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