Author: © Christian National Church of Christ

Exodus 31 & 32

The Lord told Moses to bring Aaron and his sons the door of the Tabernacle and bathe them there. Then he put on them the special robes made for them and poured them the special robes made for them and poured olive oil on Aarons head, anointing him as God’s High Priest. Afterwards Moses gave sacrifices to God on their behalf. That is the way Aaron and his sons became priests.

They sacrificed two lambs every day for the sins of the people. These lambs were killed and then burned before God on the great bronze altar, one in the morning and the other in the evening.

God told Moses to make another altar, too, of wood covered with gold. It was smaller than the bronze altar, and stood inside the tabernacle in the room with the gold table and the gold lampstand.

This altar was not to sacrifice animals on, but for burning incense. When incense burns, it sends up a smoke that is sweet to smell.

The animals sacrificed on the bronze altar represented the Savior being offered up for our sins. The incense sending up its sweet smoke from the gold altar represented the prayers of God’s people. Aaron was commanding to burn incense on the gold altar every morning and every evening when he came into the tabernacle to trim and light the lamps on the gold lampstand. It is a good idea for us to have a special time of prayer each morning and evening just as Aaron did.

God also told Moses to make a huge bronze water tank to stand in the court outside the Tabernacle, near the great bronze altar.

The Lord told a man named Bezaleel to make all these things, for God had given him special ability to make beautiful things out of silver and gold, bronze and jewels. Other men would help him, but God told Bezaleel to be in charge.

When the Lord had finished talking with Moses, He gave him the two tablets of stone on which God had written the Ten Commandments. Moses had been with God on Mount Sinai for forty days and forty nights learning about all the things God wanted made.

Meanwhile the people of Israel were in their camp at the foot of the mountain. They became impatient when Moses’ stayed so long. They went to Aaron and said, “We don’t know what has become of Moses. We want to worship idols, like all the other nations do.”

“All right,” Aaron said, “bring me your wives’ and children’s gold ear rings.” Aaron melted the earrings in a fire and poured out the gold into a lump, which he then made into the shape of a beautiful gold calf.

The people bowed to the calf and said it was their god who had brought them out of the land of Egypt. Aaron built an altar in front of it and told the people to come back the next day for a big celebration. Early the next morning, they sacrificed a burnt offerings to the calf instead of to the Lord. They had a great party, feasting and getting drunk and dancing around the calf.

All this time Moses was still on the mountain. He couldn’t see what the people was doing, but God could. “Quick! Go down, “God told him, “For the people have done a very wicked thing. They have made a calf and worshipped it and sacrificed to it and called it there god.

Moses hurried down the mountain with the two tablets of stone in his hand. Joshua, his helper, was with him; and as they came near the camp, they heard the noise of the people shouting.

Joshua, said to Moses, “It sounds as if they are getting ready for war.”

No, “Moses said, “It isn’t the noise of war; they are singing.”

When they came nearer Moses looked down and saw the gold calf and the people dancing before it. He could hardly believe it; in great anger he hurled the two tables of stone down the mountain and they broke in pieces as they smashed against the ground.

Questions:

What are sacrifices?

Why did God want them?

Does He want us to sacrifice to Him?

How was the gold calf made?

Why was it wrong to worship it?

What happened to the two stone tablets?

Exodus Chapter 25 & 26

The Lord told Moses to come up to the top of Mount Sinai again, so that He could give him two tablets of stone with the Ten Commandments written to them. So Moses went up, along with Joshua, his assistant.

Then a cloud came down and covered the mountain for six days. On the seventh day the Lord called to Moses from the cloud. Moses stayed there on the mountain for forty days and forty nights. The people at the bottom of the mountain saw the glory of the Lord like a bright, burning fire at the top.

The Lord told Moses that the people should build a tabernacle, or church, where they could worship Him. He showed Moses just how to do it; He even gave Moses a pattern of the building, so he would know just what it should look like.

It was to be very beautiful, with many beautiful things in it made of gold and silver and brass. There were to be curtains of fine-spun linen, with rich needle work embroidery. God told Moses to ask the people to bring gifts of gold and silver and everything else that was needed, and to give these gifts to the Lord.

God also commanded Moses to make an Ark to be placed inside the Tabernacle. This Ark was a beautiful gold box, it was made of wood and then covered inside and outside with pure gold.

God said that when the Ark was finished, Moses was to put into it the two stone tablets with the Ten Commandments written on them. The Ark was to have a cover of solid gold, with two gold angels standing on it, one at each end, facing each other with their wings spread out. This cover with the angels on it would be called the mercy seat.

There was to be a gold table, too, made of wood and covered with gold, to stand in the Tabernacle, and a gold lampstand to give the Tabernacle light.

God told Moses just how to construct the Tabernacle. It would be portable, easy to take apart and put together again, for the people were to carry it with them on their journey to the land of Canaan.

The sides of the Tabernacle were to be made of boards were to stand on end and be fastened together with a curtain that was spread over them as a roof. The door of the Tabernacle would be a curtain; and another beautiful curtain, called the veil, would hang across the inside of the Tabernacle, dividing it into rooms. In the inner room Moses was to place the Ark with the mercy seat. The gold table and the gold lampstand would go in the outer room.

The Lord said that Aaron and his sons would be God’s priests. They would sacrifice to God the animals brought to the Tabernacle by the people of Israel. Aaron would be the High Priest: he would be in charge, and his four sons would be his assistants.

Beautiful clothes were made for his head, with a place of gold fastened to the front of it, and these words written on it: “Holiness to the Lord.” This reminded Aaron that God commanded him to be Holy, and it reminded the people to honor Aaron as God’s High Priest.

Next to his skin Aaron wore a robe made of embroidered linen. Over the linen robe he wore a long, sleeveless blue coat. Hanging from the lower edge of this outer robe were decorations made to look like pomegranates, blue and purple, and scarlet. A pomegranate is a fruit something like an orange. Gold bells were hung between the pomegranates.

Over the blue robe, Aaron wore a many-colored vest, called an ephod.

Over the front of this vest was a square piece of richly embodied cloth with twelve different kinds of jewels on it, called the breastplate. These jewels were of the most beautiful kinds, including a ruby, a sapphire, and a diamond, each in a beautiful gold setting. So Aaron’s clothes were very splendid.

His four sons had special clothes, too; but theirs were not as beautiful as Aarons, because he alone was the High Priest.

Questions:

What is a Tabernacle? What were some of the things in it?

Why was it portable? {What does “portable” mean?}

What were the doors and walls made of?

Tell about Aarons clothes.

Exodus 20

God called Moses to the top of Mount Sinai, where He gave him the 10 Commandments, written on two tablets of stone.

Then God gave the people of Israel these Ten Commandments:

1. “You must not have any other God but me”

This means that we must love God more than anyone or anything else; for anything we love more than God becomes our God instead of Him.

        2. “You must not make any idol, nor bow down to one, nor worship it”

Many people in the world make statues, or idols, and believe that they are gods which can help them. But in this commandment God forbids making such statues or bowing down to them or worshipping them. God is the only One who can save men, and we are to worship Him alone. This commandment also means that we are not to worship money or clothes or anything else but God.

        3. “You must not take the name of the Lord your God in Vain”

This means that whenever we speak God’s name, we must do it reverently, remembering how great and holy a name it is. If we speak it carelessly or thoughtlessly, we offend Him. This commandment teaches us not to swear.

        4. “Remember the Sabbath Day, to keep it Holy”

In this commandment God instructed His people not to work on the Sabbath. This was because God rested on the seventh day after His six days of work when He created the Heavens and the earth.

        5. “Honor your father and mother”

Next to obeying God, we should obey our parents. We must not delay doing what they tell us to, and shouldn’t even wait to be told. This is God’s commandment.

         6. “You must not kill”

We break this commandment by murdering, but we also break it when we are angry with someone and wish he were dead. For then we have the wish for his death in our hearts, and God see’s murder in our heart.

         7. “You must not commit adultery”

When a man lives with a woman as his wife when he is already married to somebody else, it is adultery.  {When a woman lives with a man as her husband. When she is already married to someone else, it is adultery.} God says we must never do this, and it is a sin when a man and woman sleep together when they are not married. He commands us to be pure in all our thoughts, words, and actions.

          8. “You must not steal”

You must not take anything for your own that belongs to someone else. If you have ever done this, whether by mistake or on purpose, God commands you to give it back or pay for it.

           9. “You must not tell lies”

This means that you must never say anything about another person that isn’t true. And when you are saying what is true, you must be very careful how you say it. Don’t leave out a little or add a little to make it different from the real truth.

         10. “You must not covet anything that is your neighbor’s”

To cove a thing is to wish it were yours. We must not do this. God, who knows best, gives to each of us just what He wants us to have.

When all the people heard the terrible thunder and the blast of the trumpet and saw the lightening and the smoke and heard God’s voice, they were terrified. They said to Moses,

“You tell us what God wants, and we will do it: but don’t let God speak to us, or we will die.” Moses told them God hadn’t come down to kill them, but to make them afraid to sin against Him.

The people stood a long way off from the mountain while Moses climbed up to the dark cloud where God was. There God talked with him and gave him many more laws for the Israelis to obey.

When the people heard these laws, they promised to obey them.

Questions:

See how many of the Ten Commandments you can remember?

Tell what any two of the Ten Commandments mean?

What did the people promise God?

What does this mean: “You must not covet anything that is your neighbor’s”?

Exodus 17:8-16

Exodus 19:10-13

Then the soldiers from the country of Amalek attacked them. There was a brave man among the people of Israel whose name was Joshua. Moses said to him, “Choose the men you want, and go out tomorrow to fight with the army of Amalek. I will stand on top of the hill with the rod of God in my hand. 

Joshua did as Moses told him to. As Joshua’s men fought with the Amalekites, Moses, Aaron, and a man named Hur went up to the top of a hill where they could watch. Moses pointed his staff toward the men fighting in the valley below. As long as he held it up, the people of Israel were winning; but whenever he let it down, the enemy began to win. Soon Moses’ arm become very tired, so Aaron and Hur rolled a rock over to where he was standing, and he sat on it. They stood on each side of him and held up his hands all day until the battle finally ended at sunset. So, God gave the victory to the Israelis. 

God was displeased with the Amalekites for fighting against His people and said that the time would come when all the Amalekites would be destroyed. 

The Israelis arrived at Mount Sinai three months after leaving Egypt. They camped at the bottom of the mountain while Moses went up and talked with God. God told Moses to remind the people of how  He had helped them by protecting them from the Egyptians, and He said that He would love them more than any other people if they would obey His commandments.  

God told Moses to go down and call the people together. In the three days God would return to the top of the mountain to talk with Moses there, and all the people would hear Him. He told Moses to tell the people to wash their clothes and to be very careful not to sin, in order to get ready for God’s visit. None of them were allowed to go up the mountain, for anyone who did must die. A loud trumpet blast far up on the mountain would be the signal for everyone to gather quickly at its foot and wait there for God to speak. 

Moses went down and told the people, and they put on fresh, clean clothing for the awesome occasion. On the morning of the third day there was a terrible thundering and lightning, and the Lord came to the top of the mountain in a thick cloud. And there was a trumpet blast so long and loud that the people trembled with fear.  

Then Moses led them out of the camp to the foot of the mountain. The whole mountain was covered with smoke because the Lord was there. The smoke climbed skyward as from a furnace, and the mountain shook. The trumpet blast grew louder and louder. Moses called, and God answered him, summoning him to the top of the mountain. 

Questions: 

What did Moses do while Joshua was fighting the Amalekites? 

Where did the Israelis go to listen to God speaking to them? 

How did the mountain look when God was on it? 

Exodus Chapter 16 & Chapter 17:1-7

The Israelis now found themselves in a great desert between Egypt and the Promised Land, Canaan, where God was leading them. Soon their water was gone and they were thirsty. They finally arrived at a place called Marah and found water there, but it was too bitter to drink. But instead of asking the Lord to help them, they blamed Moses.

Moses prayed to the Lord about it, and the Lord showed him a certain tree and told him to throw it into the water. He did, and suddenly the water was no longer bitter, and the people could drink it!

They travelled on and came to Elim; there were twelve wells there and seventy palm trees. Going on farther they came to the desert of Sihn. But now a rebellion broke out; the people began to riot against Moses and Aaron because they were hungry. They said they had plenty of food in Egypt and they wished God had killed them there instead of bringing them out into the desert to die of starvation.

The Lord heard their complaints and told Moses He would send meat for them that evening, and as much bread as they wanted in the morning. Then they would know that the Lord was taking care of them.

The Lord did as He promised; for that evening about the time the sun was going down, huge flocks of birds called quail came flying just above the ground. The people killed them with clubs and ate them for supper.

The next morning after the dew was gone, small, white, round things were all over the ground. No one knew what it was, so they called it “Manna,” In their language means, “What is it?”

“This is the bread the Lord promised you,” Moses told them.

The Lord told the people to go out each day except Saturday and gather as much as they wanted. He told them not to take more than they needed for one day, since there would be a fresh supply each morning. The Lord wanted them to trust Him one day at a time for their daily bread. Some of the people didn’t obey, and gathered enough for two days instead of one. The next morning the extra manna was spoiled, with worms crawling around in it. They had to throw it away and get fresh manna off the ground.

Each morning when the sun warmed the ground the manna melted away and disappeared. But early the next morning there was always more waiting for them.

The only exception was on the seventh day of each week. That was the Sabbath day when God told them not to work. On that day there was no manna on the ground. The day before the Sabbath they gathered twice as much as other days, and what they saved to eat the next day didn’t spoil. Some of the people went out on the Sabbath anyway to try to get some, but there wasn’t any. And the Lord was angry, so they didn’t do it anymore. After that they rested on the Sabbath day as the Lord had told them to.

The manna was small and round, and white like coriander seed. It tasted like bread made with honey. Moses told Aaron to get a bottle and fill it with manna. He wanted to keep it forever, so that the children who weren’t even born yet would be able to see a sample of the food the Lord fed His people with in the desert.

Moses did this, and God kept the manna from spoiling for hundreds of years until they finally lost it.

The Israelis ate manna every day for forty years until they finally came to the land of Canaan.

As they travelled, they came to a place called Rephidim, but found no water there. So they complained again. “Get us water,” they demanded of Moses.

“Why blame me?” Moses asked.

“Because you brought us here,” they retorted.

Then Moses cried out to the Lord and said, “What shall I do?” For they are almost ready to stone me.”

By this time, they were close to Mount Horeb where Moses had seen the fire burning in the bush. The Lord told him to lead the people to a certain rock on Mount Horeb and to strike the rock with his walking stick. Moses did as the Lord said, and water poured out giving everyone enough to drink!

Questions:

How did Moses make the bitter water safe to drink?

How did God provide food for the Israelis?

Why didn’t God want the people to collect manna on the Sabbath?

Why and where did Moses strike the rock?

Exodus Chapters 14 & 15

Finally, the people of Israel had escaped from Egypt. At last they were free. What a wonderful feeling it must have been, they were no longer Pharaoh’s slaves.

The Lord led them toward the Red Sea to a place called Elham, on the edge of the desert.  There they set up their tents and made camp.

As they traveled along, the Lord was very kind to them; He went before them in a cloud to show them the way. The cloud was shaped like a pillar reaching up to Heaven. They could see it all the time. As they walked along, it moved on ahead of them so that they could follow it and know where God wanted them to go. 

In the daylight it looked like a cloud, but at night it became a pillar of fire. It gave them light at night, so they could travel whenever the Lord wanted them to, day or night.

Almost as soon as the Israelis left Egypt, Pharaoh and his officers were sorry they had let his officers were sorry they had let them go. “Why did we ever let them get away from us? They asked.

Then Pharaoh and his soldiers got into their chariots and chased after the people of Israel. They caught up to them as they were camping by the Red Sea. The Israelites saw the Egyptians coming and were frightened and cried out to God. Then they turned against Moses’ and blamed him for getting them into trouble. It would have been better to stay and be slaves to the Egyptians, they said, than to be killed in the desert. But Moses told them not to be afraid. “Wait and see the Lord will do for you, “he said. “For the Egyptians you have seen today will never be seen again. The Lord will fight for you, and you won’t need to do a thing.”

When Pharaoh and his army had almost caught up with them, the cloud in front of them moved behind them, the cloud in front of them moved behind them, and came between them and Pharaohs army. The cloud was dark on the side where Pharaoh’s was, and his soldiers couldn’t see. But the side of the cloud that was turned toward Israel was as bright as fire and gave the people light in their camp!

The Lord said to Moses’ “Tell the people of Israel to start marching to the sea. When they get there, point your shepherds’ staff toward the sea, and a path will open up in front of you through the water, and My people will go across on dry ground!”

So, Moses pointed his staff toward the sea, as the Lord had told him to, and the water opened up ahead of them, making a path across the bottom of the sea. The water was piled high on each side of them like walls, but they walked across on dry ground and were soon safe on the other side!

The path through the water was still there the next morning, so when Pharaoh saw what had happened, he and his chariots, started across between the walls of water. But the Lord made the wheels come off the Egyptian Chariots, so they ground to a stop.

Then the Egyptians soldiers panicked. “Turn around! Let’s get out of here!” they shouted. “The Lord is fighting against us; He is for the Israelis.”

But before they could get out, the Lord told Moses to point his staff toward the sea again. When he did, the water came together and covered the Egyptians, drowning the entire army. Not one solider was left alive. The Israelis saw them lying dead upon the seashore where the waters washed them up.

But Moses and the Israelis were safe on the other side of the Red Sea. There they sang a song of praise to the Lord for saving them from Pharaoh.

Questions:

How did God guide the Israelis by night and by day?

How did God use the cloud to keep the Israelis safe?

How did the Israelis get across the Red Sea?

What happened when the Egyptians tried to follow?

{Exodus Chapter’s 11:12:13}

Moses became angry and told Pharaoh that God was going to send one last terrible punishment. The Lord Himself was coming to Egypt and in the middle of some night soon, He would cause the oldest son in every Egyptian home to die. Even Pharaoh’s oldest son would die. Even Pharaoh’s oldest son would die. There would be a great cry of grief all through the land, such crying  as there had never been before and would never be again. But not one of the Israeli children would be hurt in any way; then Pharaoh would know that he and his people were the ones the Lord was punishing, and not the Israelis. Moses told Pharaoh that after this punishment the Egyptians would come and beg Moses to take his people and leave the country.

Moses stalked out in great anger, leaving Pharaoh sitting there.

Then the Lord instructed the Israelis to be ready to leave Egypt in four days. He said to ask the Egyptians for Jewels and silver earrings and gold necklaces to take with them. And the Lord caused the Egyptians to want to give their jewels to the people of Israel.

The Lord said for each family in Israel to get a lamb and to kill it on the fourth evening. Then they must take the blood of the lamb outside and sprinkle it on each side of the door and up above the door, making three marks of blood on the outside of every Israeli home. They must stay in their houses and not come out again until morning, for that night the angel of the Lord would come and kill the oldest child in every home where the blood was not on the door.

On that fourth evening they must roast the lamb, God said, and everyone in the house must eat some of it. They must be dressed to travel as they ate it, all ready to go, with their shoes on and their walking sticks in their hands. And they were to hurry as they ate, for when the Lord went through the land on that night and caused the oldest sons to die, at last Pharaoh would really let them go.

God promised that He would pass over the houses where the blood was on the door and not harm any one inside. The supper of lamb they ate that night was called the Lord’s “Passover,” because the Lord passed over the houses where He saw the blood on the door.

At last the terrible night came. In the middle of the night the Lord passed through the land. Wherever He saw the marks of blood, He passed over that house and no one there was harmed. But there were no marks of blood on the houses of the Egyptians, and the Lord sent his destroying angel into every one of those homes and caused the oldest son to die. Even Pharaohs oldest son died that night.

The king got up in the night with all his people, and there was a great cry of sorrow and despair through all the land, for in every home the oldest son was dead.

Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron and told them to leave Egypt at once and to take all the people of Israel with them. “Take all your flocks and herds, he begged, “and leave tonight.” All the Egyptians begged them to go quickly, for they were afraid the Lord would kill them all, not just their oldest sons.

So the people of Israel left Egypt that night, carrying their clothes on their shoulders. And the Egyptians gave them jewels of silver and gold, and clothes too: so they went away with great riches. And many of the Egyptians went with them.

The lamb that was killed in every Israeli home that night in some ways like our Savior. The lamb died foir the people, and its blood saved them. That is what happened again many years later, when Christ the Savior came as the lamb of God to die for each of us.

And just as God passed over those who had the marks of the lamb’s blood on their houses, and did not punish them, so it will be when Christ comes back again. He will not punish those who have the marks of the Savior’s blood in their hearts, those whose hearts have been cleansed from sin by His blood.

That night as they left Egypt, the Israelis took the body of Joseph with them, for Joseph had made his brothers promise four hundred years before that they would take his body home again to Canaan! At last his dying wish was being fulfilled.

Questions:

What did God command the Israelis to do so that the Lord would pass over their houses?

Why was their supper that night called the Lords “Passover”?

In what ways were the lambs that were killed that night like Jesus?

What did the Israelis take with them as they left Egypt?

{Exodus Chapter 10}

Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh again to tell him that if he wouldn’t obey the Lord, tomorrow the Lord would send locusts to destroy everything that was left. Locusts are like grasshoppers, but they eat gardens and crops.

Pharaoh’s men were very frightened. They remembered about the river turning into blood, and about the frogs and the lice and the flies. They remembered about the sickness of the cattle and about the boils and the hail. They begged Pharaoh to let the Israelis go, so that no more punishment would come.

Moses and Aaron were told to come to Pharaoh’s palace, and he said to them, “All right, go and sacrifice to the Lord your God; but which of the people do you want to go?” Moses answered that all the people of Israel must go, young and old, sons and daughters, flock’s and herds, for they must have a religious holiday.

Pharaoh said that only the men could go, the women and children must stay in Egypt. Moses and Aaron were then dragged away by Pharaoh’s guards and told to get out and stay out.

Then the Lord told Moses to lift his hand toward Heaven, and the locusts would come. Then the Lord caused the east wind to begin blowing, and it continued blowing all that day and all that night too. In the morning. The wind brought great clouds of locusts that filled the sky and covered the ground! They were all over Pharaohs palace and in all the houses of the Egyptians. The locusts ate everything that the hail had left, until there was not a leaf to be seen on the bushes or trees in all the land.

Pharaoh hurriedly called for Moses’ and Aaron and said, “I have sinned.” He asked Moses to forgive him only this one more time and to pray that God would take the locusts away.

So Moses went out and prayed. The Lord sent a very strong west wind that blew the locusts into the Red Sea where they would drowned. There wasn’t one locusts left in all of Egypt!

But when Pharaoh saw that the locusts were gone, he wouldn’t let the people go!

Then the Lord commanded Moses to hold up his hand toward heaven, and it became dark all over the land. The Egyptians couldn’t see one another for three days, and couldn’t leave their homes.

But in the houses of the Israelis it was as light as usual.

Then Pharaoh called for Moses and said, “All right, go and worship the Lord! Take your children with you, but not your flocks and herds.” But Moses told him no, they wouldn’t go without their animals. That made Pharaoh angry. He told Moses again to get out of his sight and never come back again. If he did, Pharaoh said, he would kill him.

Questions:

What did the locusts do to the land of Egypt?

How long did the darkness last?

What did Pharaoh say that the people could take with them?

What did he say they couldn’t take?

Exodus 8:20-30 Exodus 9:1-11

The Lord again told Moses’ to get up early the next morning to meet Pharaoh as he went to bathe in the river. Moses must tell him again to let the people go. If he still refused to let them go, the Lord would send swarms of flies all over Egypt.

Moses did as the Lord commanded, but again Pharaoh said no, he wouldn’t let the people go.  So the Lord sent flies and they covered the whole country. The houses of the Egyptians were swarming with them, and the ground was covered with them.

But in the land of Goshen where the Israelis lived, there were no flies at all, because the Lord did not send them there.

Pharaoh was very much upset about the flies, as he had been about the frogs. He called Moses and Aaron and told them, “All right, the people of Israel can sacrifice to their God, but they must stay in Egypt to do it. They mustn’t go out in the desert.”

Moses told Pharaoh they must leave Egypt and go three days’ journey into the desert to sacrifice to the Lord, for that is what God had told them to do.

Then Pharaoh said all right, they could go but not that far.

“Please,” He begged Moses, “Pray to your God to get rid of the flies.” Moses said he would, but he warned Pharaoh not to lie to him again by not letting the people go. Moses went away and prayed to the Lord, and the Lord took away the swarms of flies from Pharaoh and his people. Suddenly there wasn’t one left in all the land! But when Pharaoh saw that the flies where gone, he changed his mind again and wouldn’t let the people go.

Next the Lord commanded Moses to tell Pharaoh that a great sickness would destroy the cows and sheep of Egypt, but the cows and sheep of the Israelis would not be hurt at all.

But Pharaoh still said no, the people could not go.

So the Lord sent the sickness. The Egyptian cows and horses and donkeys and camels and sheep began to die. Pharaoh sent to see if any of the Israelis’ cattle were dead, but not one of them was even sick! When Pharaoh found that the animals belonging to the people of Israel were all right, is heart grew even harder and more wicked than before, and he would not let the people go!

Then the Lord told Moses and Aaron to stand where Pharaoh could see them and to toss handfuls of ashes into the air. Those ashes, the Lord said, would cause terrible sores to break out all over the bodies of the Egyptians and their animals. So Moses stood before Pharaoh and tossed the ashes into the air; and the sores broke out on the Egyptians and on their animals throughout al Egypt, except where the Israelis lived. This time the Magicians didn’t even try to do the same thing, for the terrible boils were on them too.

But Pharaohs heart was still wicked, and he wouldn’t let the people go!

Then the Lord told Moses to get up early the next morning and tell Pharaoh that God would send a great hailstorm, a storm such as there has never been before. Moses told Pharaoh to quickly get all his cattle in from the fields, for everything out in the storm would die. Some of the Egyptians feared the Lord, and when they heard what was going to happen, they brought in their slaves and cattle from the fields and put them in barns where the hail wouldn’t hurt them. But most of the Egyptians didn’t believe what Moses said and left their animals out in the fields anyway.

Then the Lord told Moses to point his hand toward heaven, and suddenly a terrible hailstorm began, and lighting ran along the ground. Never before had there been such a storm in Egypt. The hail crashed down onto the fields, killing men and animals alike. It broke down the bushes and trees, and all the grain was broken and spoiled, except for what hadn’t yet grown up above the ground.

But in the land of Goshen, where the people of Israel lived, no hail fell at all!

Then Pharaoh sent for Moses and Aaron and said, “I have sinned; the Lord is good, and I and my people are wicked. Beg the Lord to stop the terrible thunder and hail, and I will let you go right away.

Moses said that as soon as he was out of the city he would ask the Lord to stop the thunder and hail. But he knew Pharaoh still wouldn’t obey the Lord. Moses went out into the terrible storm, but God kept the hail and fire from harming him. When he was out of the city he prayed, and the thunder and hail stopped.

And when Pharaoh saw that it had stopped, he changed his mind and wouldn’t let the people go!

Questions:

What three plagues are told about in this story?

What happened to the Israelis cows?

Why didn’t Pharaoh let the Israelis go?

The Lord told Moses to go to Pharaoh the next morning when he would be talking a walk beside the river. When Pharaoh came along, Moses must go up to him and say,

“The God of the Hebrews has sent me to tell you, ‘Let my people go. They must sacrifice to Me in the desert.”

So, the next morning Moses went to the river. Sure enough, Pharaoh was out for a walk, and Moses told Pharaoh what the Lord had said. But Pharaoh refused to let the people go. 

The Lord told Aaron to strike the river with his shepherd’s staff, while Pharaoh and his men were watching. When Aaron did this, the water in the river changed to blood too! So the fish died, and the Egyptians had no water to drink.

Then Pharaoh’s magicians came; and they, too, turned water into blood, because the Lord let them do it. So, Pharaoh went back home to his palace and wouldn’t let the people go.

The Egyptians dug holes in the ground near the river to get water fit to drink, for the blood stayed in the river seven days.

The Lord now told Moses to announce to Pharaoh that unless he let the people go, God would send millions of frogs that would cover the entire nation and be in the Egyptians’ houses and even jump into their beds.

But Pharaoh said he didn’t care, he wouldn’t let the people go.

So God told Aaron to point his shepherds staff over the rivers of Egypt. Suddenly, millions of frogs came up out of the water.

Pharaoh’s magicians held out their rods over the rivers, and more frogs came out; for again God allowed the magicians to do the same thing Aaron did.

But now Pharaoh and the people of Egypt were in real trouble. Frogs were everywhere. He called for Mose’s and Aaron and asked them to pray to God to take the frogs away. “If you do,” Pharaoh said, “I’ll let the people go to sacrifice in the desert.”

When do you want the frogs to die?” Moses asked.

Pharaoh replied “Tomorrow.”

So the next day Moses prayed to the Lord, and the Lord did as Moses asked. “The frogs in the houses and villages and fields all died, and the people gathered them in great heaps.

The smell of dead frogs was all over the land. It was terrible!

But when Pharaoh saw that the frogs were dead, he wouldn’t let the people go.

Then the Lord commanded Aaron to strike the dust on the ground with his shepherds staff, and the dust changed into very small insects called lice that covered the people and the cattle.

Pharaoh magicians tried to make lice, too. But this tie they couldn’t, because God wouldn’t let them. So they told Pharaoh that it was God who had changed the dust into lice. But Pharaohs heart was wicked. He wouldn’t listen, and he wouldn’t let the people go.

Questions:

What happened to all the water in Egypt?

Tell about the frogs.

What did Pharaoh promise he would do if God took away the frogs?

Did he keep his promise?

What did the dust turn into?

Exodus Chapter 8

Verses 1-15: Note the concept of Pharaoh’s response (in verse 2), as God says: “It thou refuse to let them go”. The fact the “the magicians did so with their enchantments, and brought up frogs” certainly would not have been a blessing to the Egyptians. The goddess Heket (the spouse of the god Khnum), who is depicted in the form of a woman with a frog’s head, was held to blow the breath of life into the nostrils of the bodies that her husband fashioned (Gen. 2:7), on the potter’s wheel from the dust of the earth. Genesis intends to convey that Israel’s God alone rules the world, and that He alone bestows on His creatures, according to His will, the power of fertility.

These frogs, considered by the Egyptians a symbol of fertility, could be transformed, if God so desired, from a token of blessing to one of blight. Moses allowed Pharaoh to pick the time when the frogs should be removed as he said: “Glory over me: when shall I entreat for thee.” The sense of this language is that Moses allowed Pharaoh the choice of the time when Moses would intercede for him. The God would remove the frogs. But notice Pharaoh’s response: “When Pharaoh saw that there was respite, he hardened his heart, and hearkened not unto them” (8:32; 9:34). All of this was “as the Lord had said (4:21; 7:4).

Exodus 8:1 “And the LORD spake unto Moses, Go unto Pharaoh, and say unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Let my people go, that they may serve me.

“Go unto Pharaoh”: The warning for the second plague was delivered to Pharaoh, presumably at his palace. Warnings for the fifth (9:1), and eighth (10:1), plagues also occurred at the palace.

Exodus 8:2 “And if thou refuse to let [them] go, behold, I will smite all thy borders with frogs:”

“Smite”: The verb God used also meant “to plague”. Various terms (literally from the Hebrew), namely “plagues” (9:14), “strike” (12:13), and “pestilence” (9:3, 15), were employed to impress them with the severity of what was happening in Egypt.

“Frogs”: That Egyptians favored frogs was seen in the wearing of amulets in the shape of a frog and in the prohibition against intentionally killing frogs, which were considered sacred animals. The croaking of frogs from the river and pools of water signaled to farmers that the gods who controlled the Nile’s flooding and receding had once again made the land fertile. The god Hapi was venerated on this occasion because he had caused rich soil deposits to come downstream.

Further, the frog was the representation, the image, of the goddess Heket, the wife of the god Khnum, and the symbol of resurrection and fertility. The presence of frogs in such abundance, all over everywhere outside and inside the houses (verse 3, 13), however, brought only frustration, dismay and much discomfort, rather than the normal signal that the fields were ready for cultivating and harvesting.

One of the false gods of Egypt was a frog-headed goddess called Heket. This frog-headed deity was worshipped, because they believe it had creative power. We will see in this massive overabundance of frogs, the tearing down of the worship of frogs. Animals of all kinds were worshipped in Egypt, and even though there were so many frogs, they were forbidden to kill them.

Here, we see the request of Moses and Aaron for Pharaoh to let the people go; and the threat of this great plague of frogs, if he didn’t. These plagues God brought upon Pharaoh and the Egyptians were to discredit their false gods, as we said before. In (verse 3), we see just how severe this abundance of frogs was.

Exodus 8:3 “And the river shall bring forth frogs abundantly, 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:”

The river Nile; and though water, and watery places, naturally produce these creatures, yet not in such vast quantities as to cover a whole country, and one so large as Egypt, and this done at once, immediately. For they were all produced instantaneously, and in one day were spread all over the nation, and removed the next: and besides what follows is equally miraculous.

“Which shall go up and come into thine house”: Which though they may come up out of rivers, and be upon the banks and the meadows adjacent, yet are never known to come into houses, and especially into bedchambers and other places mentioned. Being not a bold but timorous creature, and shuns the sight and company of men. But these came even into the royal palace, nor could his guards keep them out.

“And into thy bedchamber, and upon thy bed”: and by their leaping upon him, and croaking in his ears, disturb his rest.

And into the house of thy servants”: And upon thy people both nobles and common people, and not only get into their houses, but upon their persons. On their hands when they about their business, and on their laps, and into their bosoms, as they sat. This must have been very offensive and troublesome to them, what with their ugly shape, croaking noise and filthy smell, and the disagreeable touch of them, leaping on them. And even upon their food, and all vessels used for the same, which must make it very nauseous and distasteful to them.

“And into thy ovens”: Where they baked their bread, and would be now hindered from the use of them:

“And into thy kneading troughs”: Where they kneaded their dough, and made it into loaves, and prepared it for the oven. Or the “dough” itself, which they leaped upon and licked, and made it loathsome for use.

Exodus 8:4 “And the frogs shall come up both on thee, and upon thy people, and upon all thy servants.”

They did not only invade their houses, but their persons, armed as they were with a divine commission and power.

“And upon thy people”: Not upon the Israelites, whom God here exempts from the number of Pharaoh’s people and subjects, including all of their servants.

The Pharaoh had full warning about how bad this plague would be before it happened. There would be frogs everywhere, even in the food. He could repent, but he would not.

Exodus 8:5 “And the LORD spake unto Moses, Say unto Aaron, Stretch forth thine hand with thy rod over the streams, over the rivers, and over the ponds, and cause frogs to come up upon the land of Egypt.”

By a secret impulse upon his mind, for he was now in the presence of Pharaoh, who had refused to let Israel go.

“Say unto Aaron, stretch forth thy hand with thy rod”: For Aaron carried the rod, and he was the minister of Moses, who was appointed a god to him. And he was to speak and to do whatever he ordered him from the Lord.

“Over the streams, over the rivers and over the ponds”: The seven streams of the river of Nile, and over the canals cut out of it, and over all places where there was a collection of water for any use for man or beast.

“And cause frogs to come up upon the land of Egypt”: Out of the streams, rivers, and ponds, immediately.

Here again, we see this rod that God had given Moses, used to bring this plague of frogs. Some of the writers try to explain where the frogs came from, but they came from God. This again, was a miracle that God brought. Moses, Aaron and the rod were all used of God to bring this about.

Exodus 8:6 “And Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt; and the frogs came up, and covered the land of Egypt.”

That is, towards the waters of the Nile, and towards all places where any water was; for it was not possible he could stretch out his hand over all the waters that were in every place.

“And the frogs came and covered the land of Egypt: they came up at once, and in such multitudes everywhere, that the whole land was full of them. This was done on the twenty fifth of Adar, or February, the same day the former plague ceased; that Moses by his rod produced frogs, locusts, and lice.

At first the inhabitants killed them, and keeping their houses shut, bore it patiently some time. But when it signified nothing, and their household goods were covered with them, and they found them boiled and roasted with their food, and lay in such heaps that they could not tread for them. They were so distressed with the smell of the dead ones, they forsook their country.

We see here that just as God had warned, the frogs came when Aaron stretched out Moses’ rod over the rivers.

Exodus 8:7 “And the magicians did so with their enchantments, and brought up frogs upon the land of Egypt.”

“The magicians did so”: Once again, instead of reversing the plague, the magicians in demonstrating the power of their secret arts only appeared to increase the frog population to the added discomfort of the people. Their power was not sufficient enough to do more than play “copycat.” That the magicians could duplicate but not eradicate the problem was, however, sufficient to solidify royal stubbornness.

Here again we see Pharaoh’s magicians brought frogs as well.

Verses 8-15: Here, a common pattern begins: the pestilence comes; the pain is felt; Pharaoh seeks “relief” and promises to “let the people go”; the plague is dismissed; and Pharaoh resists God’s grace once again (see: Exodus 3:19; 4:21; 5:2; 7:3, 13-14).

Exodus 8:8 “Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron, and said, Entreat the LORD, that he may take away the frogs from me, and from my people; and I will let the people go, that they may do sacrifice unto the LORD.”

“Entreat the LORD”: Using the Lord’s name and begging for relief through His intervention was more a point in negotiation and not a personal or official recognition of Israel’s Lord.

This unbelievable overflow of frogs had gotten to the Pharaoh, and he said that he would let the Hebrews go and worship. Here was the first weakening of Pharaoh and he had gone so far as to promise to let the people go. This was a terrible predicament the Egyptians were in. They could not kill these frogs because they were objects of worship to them.

Exodus 8:9 “And Moses said unto Pharaoh, Glory over me: when shall I entreat for thee, and for thy servants, and for thy people, to destroy the frogs from thee and thy houses, [that] they may remain in the river only?”

“May remain in the river only”: A specific detail like this in Moses’ question indicates that the Nile and the waters had returned to normal and again continued to support life.

Here we see Moses asking Pharaoh, how soon he would let the children go? Then Moses could go back and speak to God to kill the frogs in the houses and get the rest to congregate in the rivers. It seems Pharaoh had more than one house and the frogs were in all of them.

Exodus 8:10 “And he said, Tomorrow. And he said, [Be it] according to thy word: that thou mayest know that [there is] none like unto the LORD our God.”

“Tomorrow”: Having been granted the privilege to set the time when the Lord would answer Moses’ prayer for relief, Pharaoh requested a cessation only on the next day. Presumably he hoped something else would happen before then so that he would not have to acknowledge the Lord’s power in halting the plague, nor be obligated to Moses and his God. But God answered the prayer of Moses, and Pharaoh remained obstinate (verse 15).

This first “he” here was Pharaoh answering Moses’ question from verse 9, and he said “tomorrow”. The second “he” was Moses. Moses was, in essence, telling Pharaoh to recognize the supremacy of Almighty God. Moses accepted the date that the Pharaoh had set.

Exodus 8:11 “And the frogs shall depart from thee, and from thy houses, and from thy servants, and from thy people; they shall remain in the river only.”

Signifying there should be a full and clear riddance of them.

“They shall remain in the river only”: The River Nile.

This was Moses speaking here, telling Pharaoh that as he wished, it would be done. God’s desire in this punishment, as in all punishment, was to cause men to repent. It seemed as though this was the case here that Pharaoh had repented.

Exodus 8:12 “And Moses and Aaron went out from Pharaoh: and Moses cried unto the LORD because of the frogs which he had brought against Pharaoh.”

To the place where they used to pray to the Lord, and meet with him, and receive messages from him; this they did the same day the plague was inflicted, the day before the morrow came when the frogs were to be removed.

“And Moses cried unto the Lord”: Prayed unto him with great fervency, and with a loud voice, most fervently entreating that the frogs might be removed on the morrow, as he had promised, that so he might not be covered with shame and confusion before Pharaoh. His faith of the miracle being wrought did not hinder the use of prayer to God for it.

“Because of the frogs which he had brought against Pharaoh”: As an army: or “put upon” him, as a judgment on him. Or rather the sense is, as it may be rendered, “because of the business of the frogs, which he had proposed or promised to Pharaoh”. That is, for the taking of them away, he had proposed to Pharaoh to fix the time when he should entreat the Lord for the removal of them; and he having fixed on the next day. Moses promised it should be done according to his word; and now he is persistent with the Lord, that it may be done as he had promised.

Note here, that Moses promised Pharaoh that the plague of the frogs would be over, even before he prayed to God. Moses knew the purpose of the frogs and knew that God had accomplished what He set out to do with them. Moses knew in his heart that God would do this.

Exodus 8:13 “And the LORD did according to the word of Moses; and the frogs died out of the houses, out of the villages, and out of the fields.”

God, who knew the heart of Pharaoh, and its insincerity, or at any rate its changefulness, took the plague of frogs away in a manner that made its removal almost as bad as its continuance. The frogs did not return into the river; neither were they devoured by flights of cranes or large wading birds, they simply died. God could as easily have dissolved them into dust, but he would have them to lie dead before their eyes, as a token that they were real frogs and no illusion, and as a testimony of his wonderful power.

Exodus 8:14 “And they gathered them together upon heaps: and the land stank.”

Swept them up, and laid them in heaps out of the way. They died where they were in thousands and tens of thousands, so that they had to be “gathered upon heaps”.

“And the land stank”: With the stench of the dead frogs, which was another proof and evidence of the reality of the miracle; and that dead frogs will cause such an ill smell appears from the above account of what befell the inhabitants of Paeonia and Dardania, unless that should be the same with this, only the names of places and some circumstances altered (see Exodus 8:16).

In the great plague of frogs mentioned by Eustathius (see the comment on Exodus 8:1-4), it was the stench of the frogs after they were dead which caused the people to quit their country.

Probably this was a drastic understatement. I am sure the odor from that many dead frogs was overwhelming. The Lord did not let Moses down; He did exactly as Moses promised Pharaoh. The relief from the frogs was just in part, because this terrible odor remained for a while.

Exodus 8:15 “But when Pharaoh saw that there was respite, he hardened his heart, and hearkened not unto them; as the LORD had said.”

Hitherto Pharaoh’s nature had not been impressed; his heart had remained dull, callous, and hard. Now an impression had been made (Exodus 8:8), and he must have yielded, if he had not called in his own will to remove it. Herein was his great guilt. (See the comment on Exodus 4:21).

“And hearkened not unto them”: To Moses and Aaron, to let the children of Israel go, as they had required, and he had promised.

“As the Lord had said”: Had foretold that he would not hearken to them, nor let Israel go as yet.

Here we see a liar or a double-minded man in Pharaoh. He had no intention of letting them go. This Pharaoh was a false god himself. He didn’t believe in God. Therefore, he had no morals; so a lie was nothing to him. It is terribly dangerous to play games with God. A man like Pharaoh was wishy-washy. He was unstable in all his ways. He lied when he said he had chosen God. Woe be to Pharaoh and his people.

Verses 16-19: For “dust” to be turned to “lice” or gnats (the Hebrew word describes either one), was particularly awful for the scrupulously clean Egyptians. With this plague, Pharaoh’s magicians could no longer duplicate the Lord’s signs, and finally they acknowledge what Pharaoh would not: “This is the finger of God”.

Exodus 8:16 “And the LORD said unto Moses, Say unto Aaron, Stretch out thy rod, and smite the dust of the land, that it may become lice throughout all the land of Egypt.”

The third plague, like the sixth and ninth, concludes a cycle and comes unannounced as a special judgment for failing to heed the others. This was the first plague that the magicians could not reproduce, and they were forced to admit that “This is the finger of God,” an expression conveying the miraculous power of God (as in Exodus 31:18; Deut. 9:10; Psalm 8:3), and a comparison of (Luke 11:20 with Matthew 12:28).

“Lice”: The Hebrew term is preferably taken to designate tiny, stinging insects barely visible to the naked eye. Those priests, who fastidiously kept themselves religiously pure by frequent washing and by shaving off body hair, were afflicted and rendered impure in their duties.

The word that was translated from “ken”, some believe means mosquitoes. But it really doesn’t matter whether this was an overwhelming attack of mosquitoes or lice. The results were the same. They brought disease and great discomfort. It was interesting that God made them of the sand as he made man from the dust of the earth. God can turn any type of matter into any form He desires. He is God. Here we see that God gave no warning to Pharaoh. It was automatic punishment for Pharaoh’s lies.

Exodus 8:17 “And they did so; for Aaron stretched out his hand with his rod, and smote the dust of the earth, and it became lice in man, and in beast; all the dust of the land became lice throughout all the land of Egypt.”

“All the dust of the land … throughout all the land”: The record stresses by its repetition of “all” and “land” the tremendous extent and severity of this pestilence.

We see literally billions of these pests. God could have brought these lice, or mosquitoes, whichever one they were, without Aaron stretching the rod over the sand. This was a show for Pharaoh, so that he would know for sure that this plague came from the one true God. There is nothing worse for man or beast than either of these pests. These pests have been known to drive livestock mad, and even cause their death. With this many, there would be total torment for the people as well. When it said “all the dust of the land became lice”, you can see the horribly terrifying amount of pests turned lose all over Egypt.

Exodus 8:18 “And the magicians did so with their enchantments to bring forth lice, but they could not: so there were lice upon man, and upon beast.”

These lice were produced out of the dust of the earth; out of any part of the creation God can fetch a scourge, with which to correct those who rebel against him. Even the dust of the earth obeys him. These lice were very troublesome, as well as disgraceful to the Egyptians, whose priests were obliged to take many pains that no vermin ever should be found about them.

All the plagues inflicted on the Egyptians, had reference to their national crimes, or were rendered particularly severe by their customs. The magicians attempted to imitate it, but they could not. It forced them to confess, “This is the finger of God”! The check and restraint put upon us needs be from a Divine power. Sooner or later God will force even his enemies to acknowledge his own power. Pharaoh, notwithstanding this, was more and more obstinate.

Here we see the magicians were stumped, they could not do this. Magicians are really sleight of hand people. As in the blood, they probably had some pill they put in the water to make it appear to be blood. Magicians really have very little power and the power they do have comes from Satan, not God.

Throughout these two plagues we have read about in these lessons, God was trying to get the attention of Pharaoh and his people, and make them realize who He was and that they must obey Him. So far it seemed to have caused Pharaoh to get more and more calloused. Tragedy does one of two things. It will either cause you to come closer to God or it will drive you from Him. Here, Pharaoh was further away. The more he ran from God the harder his heart became. As I said before, it was not important whether this was literal lice or whether, as some believe, it was mosquitos, the end result was the same. This was a terrible pestilence on Pharaoh, his people, his livestock and his land. Notice Pharaoh brought this upon himself when he lied to God.

Exodus Chapter 8 Questions

1.      In verse 2, God told Moses to tell Pharaoh to let the people go, and if they would not, God would bring a plague of what?

2.      What did the frog have to do with false gods in Egypt? These frogs, considered by the Egyptians a symbol of fertility, could be transformed, if God so desired, from a token of blessing to one of blight.

3.      What power did they believe this goddess had?The goddess Heket (the spouse of the god Khnum), who is depicted in the form of a woman with a frog’s head, was held to blow the breath of life into the nostrils of the bodies that her husband fashioned (Gen. 2:7), on the potter’s wheel from the dust of the earth

4.      Why could not the Egyptians destroy the frogs?

5.      What was the purpose of the plagues?

6.      Where were the frogs to be?

7.      How did this affect the food?

8.      What was Aaron to do to bring the plague?

9.      What and whom did God use to bring the plague about?

10.  What did the magicians do?

11.  When the frogs came, what did Pharaoh do?

12.  What did he promise?

13.  When did Pharaoh promise?

14.  What did Moses do in behalf of Pharaoh?

15.  What had Moses already promised Pharaoh?

16.  Did God honor Moses’ promise?

17.  Moses told Pharaoh to do what?

18.  What was this punishment for?

19.  What happened to the frogs in the houses?

20.  What did the people do with them?

21.  What did this cause in the land?

22.  What did Pharaoh do, when the plague of frogs was over?

23.  What two things do we see in Pharaoh?

24.  Who was Pharaoh, that made him think he could get away with this?

25.  Did God give warning of the next plague?

26.  What was the next plague?

27.  What two things did this pestilence bring?

28.  What did God make them of?

29.  What shows the magnitude of them?

30.  Why did God use Aaron and Moses, when He could bring the plague without their assistance?

31.  Were the magicians able to do this?

32.  Who are magicians?

33.  Do they really have power? Explain.

34.  Tragedy will either _______ you closer to God, or _______ you ______ _____.

35.  Who actually caused this plague of lice?

36.  How?