The Punishment of Egypt (Ex. 5:1-9, 19-23: 6:1, 6-9; 7:10-13, 20-22; 8:1-2, 18-20; 9:22-26; 10:12-27; 12:29-30)

     Again  and again. Moses and Aaron asked the king of Egypt to let their people go and offer sacrifices to the Lord in the desert. Each time the king of Egypt refused, and ordered his servants to give the Israelites more work so that they might not have time to think of offering sacrifices.

     When the Israelites were given harder work, they blamed Moses and Aaron for their troubles. Moses said to God: "Why do you allow the people to suffer so much? Since I came, the king has treated them more harshly. Why have you sent me?" God answered Moses: "You shall see what I shall do to the king. Go to the Israelites and tell them that I shall free them from their slavery."

But the Israelites would listen no longer. Moses and Aaron again went to the king. They asked him to lei the Israelites go. To prove that they came at God's com­mand, Aaron cast his rod down before the king. It im­mediately became a serpent. The king called his magi­cians, and ordered them to do as Aaron had done. The rods of the magicians also turned into serpents but they were all eaten up by the rod of Aaron.

Nevertheless, the king still refused to let the Israel­ites go. God therefore punished the land of Egypt Every time the king refused Moses, God sent a new af­fliction to the Egyptians. All these afflictions added up to ten plagues.

First of all, God turned all the waters of Egypt into blood. There was no water to drink and all the fishes in the river died, but the king would not do as Moses and Aaron asked.

Next, frogs came to cover the land of Egypt. Then God sent fleas, flies, hail to destroy the plants, and bugs which  ate up everything that was left after the hail. The Jews alone did not suffer from these great afflictions that the Lord has sent to the Egyptians.

        But the king of Egypt still did not give the Jews permission to leave their work to go to sacrifice to the Lord God in the desert.

At last, a great darkness covered the whole of Egypt, except where the Israelites lived. Finally, the king of Egypt said: "Go, sacrifice to the Lord."

The Israelites wished to take sheep and other ani­mals with them for sacrifice but again the king refused and would not let them go. Therefore, God sent the tenth plague.