Exodus 9:13-35; 10-1213And the Lord said unto Moses, Rise up early in the morning, and stand before Pharaoh, and say unto him, Thus saith the Lord God of the Hebrews, Let my people go, that they may serve me. 14For I will at this time send all my plagues upon thine heart, and upon thy servants, and upon thy people; that thou mayest know that there is none like me in all the earth. 15For now I will stretch out my hand, that I may smite thee and thy people with pestilence; and thou shalt be cut off from the earth. 16And in very deed for this cause have I raised thee up, for to show in thee my power; and that my name may be declared throughout all the earth. 17As yet exaltest thou thyself against my people, that thou wilt not let them go? 18Behold, to morrow about this time I will cause it to rain a very grievous hail, such as hath not been in Egypt since the foundation thereof even until now. 19Send therefore now, and gather thy cattle, and all that thou hast in the field; for upon every man and beast which shall be found in the field, and shall not be brought home, the hail shall come down upon them, and they shall die. 20He that feared the word of the Lord among the servants of Pharaoh made his servants and his cattle flee into the houses: 21And he that regarded not the word of the Lord left his servants and his cattle in the field. 22And 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, throughout the land of Egypt. 23And Moses stretched forth his rod toward heaven: and the Lord sent thunder and hail, and the fire ran along upon the ground; and the Lord rained hail upon the land of Egypt. 24So there was hail, and fire mingled with the hail, very grievous, such as there was none like it in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation. 25And the hail smote throughout all the land of Egypt 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. 26Only in the land of Goshen, where the children of Israel were, was there no hail. 27And Pharaoh sent, and called for Moses and Aaron, and said unto them, I have sinned this time: the Lord is righteous, and I and my people are wicked. 28Entreat the Lord (for it is enough) that there be no more mighty thunderings and hail; and I will let you go, and ye shall stay no longer. 29And Moses said unto him, As soon as I am gone out of the city, I will spread abroad my hands unto the Lord; and the thunder shall cease, neither shall there be any more hail; that thou mayest know how that the earth is the Lord's. 30But as for thee and thy servants, I know that ye will not yet fear the Lord God. 31And the flax and the barley was smitten: for the barley was in the ear, and the flax was bolled. 32But the wheat and the rie were not smitten: for they were not grown up. 33And Moses went out of the city from Pharaoh, and spread abroad his hands unto the Lord: and the thunders and hail ceased, and the rain was not poured upon the earth. 34And 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. 35And the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, neither would he let the children of Israel go; as the Lord had spoken by Moses. (Exodus 9:13‑35).
ONE morning Moses and Aaron rose up very early and came to Pharaoh, and said to him, “To-morrow God is going to rain great hailstones from the sky—such hailstones as were never seen in Egypt before. They will kill all men and beasts that are out of doors. Therefore you must keep your cows, and horses, and asses in the stables, or they will be killed.”
A great many of the men of Egypt heard Moses and Aaron say this. Some of them believed their words. They kept their beasts in their stables, and told their servants to keep indoors. But some of the men who heard did not believe, and let their beasts remain in the fields, and their servants with them.
The next day Moses stretched out his rod towards the sky, and God sent thunder and hail, and fire which ran along the ground. It was a most dreadful storm. Such a storm was never seen before. The noise of the hailstones and of the thunder must have made every one tremble who heard it. But how glad those must have been who were in their houses! Many beasts and men were killed, the grass and corn were burned up by the fire, and the trees were broken. Yet there was no hail where the children of Israel were.
This storm frightened Pharaoh, and he sent for Moses and Aaron, and said, "I have sinned: only pray the Lord to send no more, thunder and hail, and I will let the children of Israel go." Moses said, "I will go out of the city, and I will stretch out my hands to God, and He will not send any more thunder and hail; but still I know you will not obey God yet.”
So Moses went out of the city, for he did not fear the storm. Then he stretched out his hands, and God made the hail and thunder stop, and He made the rain leave off.
Did Pharaoh let Israel go? No; when he saw that the storm was over, he would not. All Pharaoh's servants were wicked, too; for they did not wish him to let the Israelites go.
Then Moses and Aaron went to King Pharaoh again, and said, "God will now send locusts into your country.”
What are locusts? They are insects, about the size of a child's thumb. Thousands of them fly close together in the air, and they perch upon the trees, and eat up all the leaves and fruit.
Pharaoh and his servants were very angry when they heard that the locusts were coming, and they spoke roughly to Moses and Aaron, and drove them out of the house.
Moses stretched out the rod and God made the wind blow very hard, and next day the wind blew a great number of locusts into Egypt. The locusts made the sky look black as the wind blew them along; but they did not stay in the air; they perched on the trees, and ate up the fruit that the hail had left-they covered the grass and ate it up, and they even came into the houses.
Pharaoh and his servants thought that they would soon have nothing to eat. Pharaoh sent quickly for Moses and Aaron. "I have sinned," he said, "against the Lord, and against you. Only forgive me this once, and pray to God to take away the locusts, and I will let Israel go.”
So Moses prayed to the Lord. God sent another wind, and it blew the locusts away, and they fell into the sea, and there was not one locust left in Egypt.
But Pharaoh still said, "I will not let Israel go.”
How sad it must have been to have walked m the fields after the locusts had been there! It was the pleasant spring, but it looked like winter. There were no leaves on the trees, there was no tender grass; all was bare as in winter. What misery had Pharaoh's wickedness brought upon the land!
The next time Moses did not tell Pharaoh what God was going to do. Moses stretched out his rod towards heaven, and in one moment God made it dark. It was darker than ever it is at night. There was not the least light, except where the children of Israel lived; there it was quite light.
The people of Egypt were very 'much, frightened. They were doing their work, or eating, or walking, when all at once this darkness came on. They stopped, and sat down in the place where they were, and never moved, night or day. Now they had time to think of all their wickedness.
It was dark for three days and three nights, and then it grew light.
But was Pharaoh sorry for his wickedness? No, his heart was harder than ever. He said to Moses, "Get away, you shall never see my face again. If you come in to me anymore, you shall die.”
Then Moses said, You shall see my face no more.”
God spake to Moses again, and said, "I am going to send another plague. At night I will come into every house in Egypt, and kill the eldest son of every person. But this is what I desire the children of Israel to do: Let each man take a lamb, a lamb without spot, and kill it, and eat it that night with his family; and let him take the blood of the lamb, and put some blood outside the door, and when I pass I shall see the blood, and I will not kill the eldest son in that house. Let the people in the house stand round the table while they eat the lamb. Let them all be dressed ready for a journey.”
So all the children of Israel killed young lambs, roasted them, and ate them at night. They stood round their tables with their sticks in their hands. They ate some bread with the lamb, and some bitter herbs. They did not forget to put some blood on the posts of the door, for then they knew they were safe.
The men of Egypt went to bed that night as usual, but in the middle of the night the eldest son in each house died. No one saw God's angel enter in, but yet he did come. No bars or bolts could keep him out; but when he saw blood on the door, then he passed over the house.
What a dreadful cry the fathers and mothers made in Egypt when they found their eldest sons were dead! They rushed out of their houses weeping. "Our darling son is dead," said one. "And so is mine," said another. "And mine." "And mine." There never was such dreadful crying heard in Egypt before.
Even Pharaoh's eldest son was killed, as well as the sons of the poor people. Pharaoh rose up at night, and called for Moses and Aaron, but it was dark, so that they did not see his face.
“Go," said Pharaoh, "and take the children of Israel with you; they may take their sheep and cows with them, and all that they have.”
And all the men of Egypt begged the children of Israel to go away as fast as possible, for they were afraid that God would kill them all.
Then the Israelites said to the women of Egypt, "Do give us some gold and silver before we go."
And they said, We will give you what you want; only go.”
The Israelites had done a great deal of work in Egypt, and it was right they should have some money given to them.
So they gave them a great many beautiful things to take with them.
The Israelites went away in a great hurry. They took their things just as they were. They put bread in their bags—they drove their sheep, cows, camels, and asses, before them, and so they set out in the night.
There was a great crowd of people: more people than live in any great town; except London. No little child could have counted them.
So at last they came out of Egypt, where they had been slaves so long. God had remembered His promise to Abraham, and Abraham's children were on their way to the land of Canaan.
God said to Moses, “They must never forget my kindness in bringing them out of Egypt. They must eat a lamb every year, as they have done to-night. Eating the lamb shall be called eating the Feast of the Passover." Why was this supper called the Passover? Because God passed over the doors where the blood was seen.
Of whom does the lamb that each family killed make you think? Of Jesus.
That lamb's blood saved the eldest son in the family from being killed; and Jesus' blood saves all people who love Him from being punished in hell. How kind it was of Jesus to shed His blood for us! We ought never to forget His kindness.
Now count how many plagues God had sent to Pharaoh and the people of Egypt.
1. Water turned into blood.
Frogs.
Small insects.
Flies.
Death of the beasts.
Boils.
7. Hail and thunder.
8. Locusts.
9. Darkness.
10. Death of the eldest sons.
What dreadful plagues these were! But there will be much worse plagues in hell.
I hope, dear children, that you will obey God, and not make Him angry with you. You know why God does not send us such dreadful plagues now. Jesus is praying for us, and God is waiting, that we may repent.
Hymn 21
Plague 1.
How crimson now that mighty flood,
That late like silver shone;
How dreadful too those drafts of blood.
In troughs of wood and stone!
Plague 2.
What troops of frogs the rooms infest,
And mount the royal bed,
Defile the food for Pharaoh dressed,
The baked meats, and the bread!
Plague 3.
The dust that lay so thick around
Now stirs and seems alive;
On men and beasts vile insects bound,
And constant torment give.
Plague 4.
What swarms of odious flies appear,
And settle on the walls;
Their hateful buzz the king can hear
Within his palace halls.
Plague 5.
The flocks and herds now droop and die
Beneath the murrain's power:
Upon the open fields they lie,
While vultures fierce devour.
Plague 6.
See pain is marked on every brow
Hear moans from every breast;
And painful boil has laid each low,
And robbed his flesh of rest.
Plague 7.
How loud the mighty thunderings sound:
Torrents of hailstones fall;
While streams of fire along the ground
The stoutest hearts appall.
Plague 8.
Driven before the eastern breeze,
A cloud obscures the air:
The locusts cover o'er the trees,
And leave the branches bare.
Plague 9.
Lo! sudden darkness spreads around,
And every face conceals
None leaves the spot where he is found,
O'er all such horror steals.
Plague 10.
Ten thousand doors wide open fly,
Though daylight long has fled;
Ten thousand frenzied parents cry,
“My firstborn son is dead.”
At length our God the victory gains
O'er Pharaoh's stubborn heart:
At length poor Israel leave obtains
From Egypt to depart.
Child
'Tis vain against that God to strive
Who heaven and earth commands.
How can a feeble sinner live,
Who falls into His hands?
O Lord! this stubborn pride remove,
That would resist Thy will,
And make me, With a childlike love,
Obey Thy precepts still.