§37. The Plagues of Egypt (Exod. 7:14-18, 25; 8:1-4, 6, 8, 13, 15-17, 20-24, 28, 31, 32; 9:1-6, 8, 9, 22-28, 33, 34; 10:3-6, 14, 19-23, 28, 29; 11:4-8; 12:29-36)

A. THE NILE TURNED TO BLOOD

And the Lord said unto Moses, "Pharaoh's heart is stubborn, he refuseth to let the people go. Get thee unto Pharaoh in the morning; lo, he goeth out unto the water; and thou shalt stand by the river's brink to meet him; and the rod which was turned to a serpent shalt thou take in thine hand. And thou shalt say unto him, 'The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, hath sent me unto thee, saying, Let my people go, that they may serve me in the wilderness: and, behold hitherto thou hast not hearkened. Thus saith the Lord, In this thou shalt know that I am the Lord: behold, I will smite with the rod that is in mine hand upon the waters which are in the river and they shall be turned to blood. And the fish that is in the river shall die, and the river shall be polluted; and the Egyptians shall loathe to drink water from the river.'"

B. THE SWARMS OF FROGS

And seven days were fulfilled, after that the Lord had smitten the river. And the Lord spake unto Moses, "Go in unto Pharaoh, and say unto him, 'Thus saith the Lord, Let my people go, that they may serve me. And if thou refuse to let them go, behold, I will smite all thy borders with frogs: and the river shall swarm with frogs, which shall go up and come into thine house, and into thy bedchamber, and upon thy bed, and into the house of thy servants, and upon thy people, and into thine ovens, and into thy kneading-troughs: and the frogs shall come up both upon thee, and upon thy people, and upon all thy servants.'"

And the frogs came up, and covered the land of Egypt. Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron, and said, "Entreat the Lord, that he take away the frogs from me, and from my people; and I will let the people go, that they may sacrifice unto the Lord."

And the frogs died, but when Pharaoh saw that there was respite, he hardened his heart.

C. THE STINGING GNATS AND SWARMS OF FLIES

And the Lord said unto Moses, "Stretch out thy rod, and smite the dust of the earth, that it may become stinging gnats throughout all the land of Egypt." And there were gnats upon man, and upon beast; all the dust of the earth became gnats throughout all the land of Egypt.

And the Lord said unto Moses, "Rise up early in the morning, and stand before Pharaoh; and say unto him, 'Thus saith the Lord, Let my people go, that they may serve me. Else, if thou wilt not let my people go, behold, I will send swarms of flies upon thee, and upon thy servants, and upon thy people, and into thy houses: and the houses of the Egyptians shall be full of swarms of flies, and also the ground whereon they are. And I will separate in that day the land of Goshen, in which my people dwell, that no swarms of flies shall be there; to the end thou mayest know that I am the Lord in the midst of the earth.'"

And the Lord did so; and there came grievous swarms of flies into all the land of Egypt. And Pharaoh said, "I will let you go, that ye may sacrifice to the Lord your God in the wilderness."

And the Lord removed the swarms of flies from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people; there remained not one. And Pharaoh hardened his heart this time also, and he did not let the people go.

D. THE CATTLE PESTILENCE AND THE BOILS

Then the Lord said unto Moses, "Go in unto Pharaoh, and tell him, 'Thus saith the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, Let my people go, that they may serve me. For if thou refuse to let them go, and wilt hold them still, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon thy cattle which is in the field, upon the horses, upon the asses, upon the camels, upon the herds, and upon the flocks: there shall be a very grievous pestilence. And the Lord shall separate between the cattle of Israel and the cattle of Egypt: and there shall nothing die of all that belongeth to the children of Israel.'"

And on the morrow all the cattle of Egypt died: but of the cattle of the children of Israel died not one.

And the Lord said unto Moses and unto Aaron, "Take handfuls of ashes, and let Moses sprinkle it toward the heaven in the sight of Pharaoh. And it shall become small dust over all the land of Egypt, and shall be a boil breaking forth with blains upon man and upon beast, throughout all the land of Egypt."

E. THE HAIL, THE LOCUSTS, AND THE DARKNESS

And the Lord said unto Moses, "Stretch forth thine hand toward heaven, that there may be hail in all the land of Egypt, upon man, and upon beast, and upon every herb of the field." So there was hail, and fire mingled with the hail, very grievous, such as had not been in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation. And the hail smote all that was in the field, both man and beast; and the hail smote every herb of the field, and brake every tree of the field. Only in the land of Goshen, where the children of Israel were, was there no hail. And Pharaoh sent, and called for Moses and Aaron, and said unto them, "I have sinned this time. I will let you go, and ye shall stay no longer."

And the thunders and hail ceased, and the rain was not poured upon the earth. And when Pharaoh saw that the rain and the hail and the thunders were ceased, he sinned yet more, and hardened his heart, he and his servants.

And Moses and Aaron went in unto Pharaoh, and said unto him, "Thus saith the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, 'How long wilt thou refuse to humble thyself before me? let my people go, that they may serve me. Else, if thou refuse to let my people go, behold, to-morrow I will bring locusts into thy border: and they shall cover the face of the earth, that one shall not be able to see the earth: and they shall eat that which remaineth unto you from the hail, and shall eat every tree which groweth for you out of the field: and thy houses shall be filled, and the houses of all thy servants, and the houses of all the Egyptians; as neither thy fathers nor thy fathers' fathers have seen, since the day that they were upon the earth unto this day.'"

And Moses stretched forth his rod over the land of Egypt, and the Lord brought an east wind upon the land all that day, and all the night; and when it was morning, the east wind brought the locusts. And they did eat every herb of the land, and all the fruit of the trees which the hail had left.

Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron in haste; and he said, "I have sinned against the Lord your God, and against you."

And the Lord turned an exceeding strong west wind, which took up the locusts, and drove them into the Red Sea; there remained not one locust in all the border of Egypt. But Pharaoh did not let the children of Israel go.

And the Lord said unto Moses, "Stretch out thine hand toward heaven, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, even darkness which may be felt."

And Moses stretched forth his hand toward heaven, and there was a thick darkness in all the land of Egypt three days; they saw not one another, neither rose any from his place for three days: but all the children of Israel had light in their dwellings.

F. THE LAST PLAGUE

And Pharaoh said unto Moses, "Get thee from me, take heed to thyself, see my face no more; for in the day thou seest my face thou shalt die."

And Moses said, "Thus saith the Lord, 'About midnight will I go out into the midst of Egypt: and all the firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sitteth upon his throne, even unto the firstborn of the maidservant that is behind the mill; and all the firstborn of cattle. And there shall be a great cry throughout all the land of Egypt, such as there hath been none like it, nor shall be like it any more.' But against any of the children of Israel shall not a dog move his tongue, against man or beast: that ye may know how that the Lord doth put a difference between the Egyptians and Israel. And all these thy servants shall come down unto me, and bow down themselves unto me, saying, 'Get thee out, and all the people that follow thee': and after that I will go out." And he went out from Pharaoh in hot anger.

And it came to pass at midnight, that the Lord smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sat on his throne unto the firstborn of the captive that was in the dungeon; and all the firstborn of cattle. And Pharaoh rose up in the night, he, and all his servants, and all the Egyptians; and there was a great cry in Egypt; for there was not a house where there was not one dead. And he called for Moses and Aaron by night, and said, "Rise up, get you forth from among my people, both ye and the children of Israel; and go, serve the Lord, as ye have said. Take both your flocks and your herds, as ye have said, and be gone; and bless me also."

And the Egyptians were urgent upon the people, to send them out of the land in haste; for they said, "We be all dead men."

And the children of Israel did according to the word of Moses; and they asked of the Egyptians jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment: and the Lord gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they let them have what they asked.

§38. The Great Deliverance (Exod. 13:17, 18, 21, 22; 14:5-7, 10-14, 19-27)

A. THE FLIGHT AND PURSUIT

And it came to pass, when Pharaoh had let the people go, that God led them not by the way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near; for God said, "Lest peradventure the people repent when they see war, and they return to Egypt:" but God led the people about, by the way of the wilderness by the Red Sea: and the children of Israel went up armed out of the land of Egypt.

And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud, to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light; that they might go by day and by night: the pillar of cloud by day, and the pillar of fire by night, departed not from before the people.

And it was told the king of Egypt that the people were fled: and the heart of Pharaoh and of his servants was changed towards the people, and they said, "What is this we have done, that we have let Israel go from serving us?" And he made ready his chariot, and took his people with him: and he took six hundred chosen chariots, and all the chariots of Egypt, and captains over all of them.

And when Pharaoh drew nigh, the children of Israel lifted up their eyes, and, behold, the Egyptians marched after them; and they were sore afraid: and the children of Israel cried out unto the Lord. And they said unto Moses, "Because there were no graves in Egypt, hast thou taken us away to die in the wilderness? wherefore hast thou dealt thus with us, to bring us forth out of Egypt? Is not this the word that we spake unto thee in Egypt, saying, 'Let us alone, that we may serve the Egyptians'? For it were better for us to serve the Egyptians, than that we should die in the wilderness."

And Moses said unto the people, "Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will work for you to-day: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to-day, ye shall see them again no more for ever. The Lord shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace."

B. THE PASSAGE OF THE RED SEA

And the angel of God, which went before the camp of Israel, removed and went behind them; and the pillar of cloud removed from before them, and stood behind them: and it came between the camp of Egypt and the camp of Israel; and there was the cloud and the darkness, yet gave it light by night: and the one came not near the other all the night. And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the Lord caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all the night, and made the sea dry land. And the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea upon the dry ground. And the Egyptians pursued, and went in after them into the midst of the sea, all Pharaoh's horses, his chariots, and his horsemen. And it came to pass in the morning watch, that the Lord looked forth upon the host of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and of cloud, and discomfited the host of the Egyptians. And he took off their chariot wheels, that they drove them heavily: so that the Egyptians said, "Let us flee from the face of Israel; for the Lord fighteth for them against the Egyptians."

And the Lord said unto Moses, "Stretch out thine hand over the sea, that the waters may come again upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots, and upon their horsemen." And Moses stretched forth his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to its strength when the morning appeared; and the Egyptians fled against it; and the Lord overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea.

§39. The Song of the Exodus (Exod. 14:30, 31; 15:1, 2, 20, 21)

Thus the Lord saved Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians; and Israel saw the Egyptians dead upon the sea shore. And Israel saw the great work which the Lord did upon the Egyptians, and the people feared the Lord: and they believed in the Lord, and in his servant Moses.

Then sang Moses and the children of Israel this song unto the Lord, and spake, saying,

And Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a timbrel in her hand; and all the women went out after her with timbrels and with dances. And Miriam answered them,

THE MEANING OF THE STORY

107. The story of the deliverance from Egypt makes a long chapter, but it is full of exciting interest and shows the fearless character of the great leader who trusted in his God. It was a bold thing for Moses to return to Egypt and try to persuade the king to let Israel go. But when he was sent to threaten Pharaoh it was indeed a task requiring courage. Imagine a single man to-day demanding of the sultan of Turkey that he should free his slaves.

108 (§37). Moses was sent to tell the king that terrible plagues would come upon his people if he refused to let the Hebrews go. Ten plagues are mentioned. Nine of them were as follows: (1) the water of the Nile turned to blood-red color and made undrinkable; (2) enormous numbers of frogs; (3) swarms of stinging insects, perhaps gnats or mosquitoes; (4) swarms of flies, which would be terrible in a hot country; (5) a cattle pestilence; (6) fearful boils on men and cattle; (7) destructive hail; (8) locusts that ate vegetation; (9) the awful hot desert wind filling the air with fine sand and causing darkness.

109 (§37). When Pharaoh was frightened by each of the plagues, what did he promise? What made him break his promise? Did you ever know anyone who was sorry for doing wrong when the punishment came, but forgot his promises afterward?

110 (§37F). What did Pharaoh threaten Moses after the ninth plague? What did Moses say should be the last plague? Probably some sudden terrible pestilence came upon Egypt. Tell the story of that night.

111 (§38A). Study the map and notice what a short journey it would be from Egypt along the coast to the Philistine country. But the borders of Egypt were strongly guarded, so that was a dangerous way to go. What might have happened if the Hebrews had seen that they would have to fight?

112 (§38A). Moses was a wise leader. He knew he had a host of slaves, who had not learned courage. So he led them southward toward the Red Sea. There was a road leading to the wilderness near the Bitter Lakes. Locate this.

113 (§38A). What happened when the Egyptians found that the people had actually gone? What did the Hebrews say when they learned that Pharaoh was following them? How did Moses encourage them?

114 (§38B). The Hebrews were in a very difficult situation. They had come to a place where the water from the Red Sea ran far up the low-lying sands. What great canal has since been dug there? The water was too deep for the Hebrews to cross. Pharaoh's army was coming up behind. The only thing that could save Israel would be a strong wind that should drive the waters back and leave the sands clear. How often God's great Providence helps his people in trouble! Moses bravely encouraged them.

115 (§38B). What separated the Israelites from the Egyptians? What made the crossing possible? What trouble did the Egyptians experience? What would naturally happen if the high wind stopped after the Israelites had crossed? Tell the story of the deliverance.

116 (§39). What do you think were the feelings of Israel when they found themselves safe? Recite the song in which they celebrated their escape? What does "Exodus" mean?

WRITTEN REVIEW

Let us try to see just what happened to the Hebrews. Draw a map of Egypt and the Sinai peninsula on a larger scale than that in your book. Mark Goshen, the region where the Hebrews lived. Mark the bitter lakes coming nearly to the Gulf of Suez. Connect these with a wavy line showing the shallow waters which were driven back for the passage of the Hebrews. Mark with a red line the road which the Hebrews might have taken along the coast road straight to Canaan and the road which they actually took south of the bitter lakes. Continue this last line into the Sinai peninsula, noting that the people were led into the wilderness.