The tenth plague of Egypt was
the greatest suffering sent by Almighty God to the Egyptian people.
One day, God said to Moses:
"Let each family the children of Israel kill a young lamb and sprinkle
doorposts, of their houses with the blood of the lamb.
Let the lamb be roasted and
eaten at night with unleavened bread and bitter herbs."
Moses obeyed the command of God and
said to the Israelites: "The Angel of death will pass through the land to
destroy all the first-born of the Egyptians. When he sees the blood on your
doorposts, he will pass on. He will not kill you or your children." The
children of Israel did according to the orders of Moses.
One night, the Angel of death passed
through the land of
Egypt and killed every first-born creature, both man and beast. In all Egyptian
houses — from the king's house to the house of the poorest Egyptian laborer — there
was sorrow and weeping because of the death of
their first-born.
The Jews alone were saved. The
Angel of death spared them when he saw the blood of the lamb on their
doorposts.
In despair
and fear, the king sent for Moses and Aaron that very night and said: "You and
the children of Israel, arise and go to sacrifice to the Lord as you want to
do. You may take your sheep and herds with you. Leave Egypt! Go, serve your
God, for if you do not, we shall all die."
The Egyptian people also urged the children of Israel
to quit their country as soon as possible. They gave them jewels and precious
ornaments, telling them: "take everything you wish, but go away. If you do not hasten, we shall be dead
men."
At last, the Egyptians wanted the Jews to go.
The children of Israel started to leave. They took
with them their sheep and beasts of different kinds.
The Jews had been in Egypt for about four hundred and
thirty years.
Moses led the Israelites out
of Egypt. They were about six hundred thousand men, besides women and children.
They took with them the bones of Joseph; and with all their goods, they set out
for the Promised land.
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