"Only Life Changes"

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?

The Lord told Moses’ brother, Aaron, to go and meet Moses’ at Mount Horeb. When he got there, Moses ’told him all about everything that had happened and what God had said for him to do.

Moses and Aaron went together to Egypt and talked with the Israeli leaders, and showed them the two miracles. He threw down the shepherd’s rod and it became a snake; then he put his hand into his coat, and it became white with leprosy. When the leaders saw these two miracles, they believed that God had sent Moses and Aaron, and that Moses was to lead them out of Egypt.

Then Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and told him, “The Lord God of Israel says, ‘Let my people leave Egypt and worship Me in the desert.’

“Huh!” Pharaoh scoffed. “Who is the Lord, and why should I obey him? I’ve never heard of that God, I certainly won’t let these Israeli people out of my sight.”

Moses and Aaron begged Pharaoh to let the people go. They said that God would punish Pharaoh to let the people go. They said that God would punish Pharaoh if he didn’t obey. But Pharaoh was angry. He asked Moses and Aaron what right they had to get the people all excited about going on a trip and keeping them from their work. “Stop this foolishness right now,’ He shouted.

“Get out of here, and get to work!”

One of the jobs of the Israeli slaves was to dig clay and make bricks by drying the clay in the sun. The clay was mixed with pieces of straw to make the bricks tougher and stronger. This straw was given to them by Pharaoh.

But now Pharaoh was so angry that he said from now on they must get their own straw, but still make just as many bricks as before. Pharaoh said they was lazy, and that was why they wanted time to go and worship their God.

So, the people of Israel went out into the fields and gathered straw. But though they worked very hard, they could not make as many bricks as when the straw was brought to them. Some of the people were brutally beaten because of this.

The leaders of the people of Israel told Pharaoh that he wasn’t being fair. How could he expect them to make as many bricks now that he was not giving them the straw?

He replied, “Your lazy! You’re lazy! That’s why you say, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to the Lord..’’ And he told them to get to work, for no straw would be given them anymore.

Then the Israelis saw that they were in real trouble, and some of them went to Moses and Aaron and accused them of making things worse for them instead of better.

Moses complained to the Lord about it and asked why He had sent him? He had only made things worse for the people, and now the Egyptians were more cruel than before.

“Just wait,” the Lord told Moses, “and you’ll see what I am going to do. Tell my people that I will rescue them from their slavery, and they will be my special people. I will lead them into the land I promised long ago to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”

Moses told the Israelis what God said, but they wouldn’t listen to him anymore.

Then the Lord sent Moses and Aaron to talk to Pharaoh again.

“When Pharaoh tells you to do a miracle, throw your shepherd’s rod on the ground,” the Lord said, “and it will change into a snake, just as it did before.”

So, Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh. Aaron threw down his rod, and sure enough, it changed into a snake. They brought some shepherds rods and threw them down, and their rods changed into snakes too. The Lord let the magicians do just as Aaron had done!

But Aaron’s snake swallowed up all the other snakes! Yet even so Pharaoh wouldn’t let the people go.

Questions:

Who was Aaron?

What two miracles did Moses’ perform in front of the Israeli leaders?

What did Pharaoh do to make the work harder for Moses’ people?

What happened when the magicians threw down their sticks?

________________________

“Bricks Without Straw”

Afterward Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Let my people go, so that they may hold a festival to me in the wilderness.’” Pharaoh said, “Who is the Lord, that I should obey him and let Israel go? I do not know the Lord and I will not let Israel go.” Then they said, “The God of the Hebrews has met with us. Now let us take a three-day journey into the wilderness to offer sacrifices to the Lord our God, or he may strike us with plagues or with the sword.” But the king of Egypt said, “Moses and Aaron, why are you taking the people away from their labor? Get back to your work!”  Then Pharaoh said, “Look, the people of the land are now numerous, and you are stopping them from working.” That same day Pharaoh gave this order to the slave drivers and overseers in charge of the people:  “You are no longer to supply the people with straw for making bricks; let them go and gather their own straw. But require them to make the same number of bricks as before; don’t reduce the quota. They are lazy; that is why they are crying out, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to our God.’ Make the work harder for the people so that they keep working and pay no attention to lies.” Then the slave drivers and the overseers went out and said to the people, “This is what Pharaoh says: ‘I will not give you any more straw. Go and get your own straw wherever you can find it, but your work will not be reduced at all.’” So the people scattered all over Egypt to gather stubble to use for straw. The slave drivers kept pressing them, saying, “Complete the work required of you for each day, just as when you had straw.”  And Pharaoh’s slave drivers beat the Israelite overseers they had appointed, demanding, “Why haven’t you met your quota of bricks yesterday or today, as before?”Then the Israelite overseers went and appealed to Pharaoh: “Why have you treated your servants this way?  Your servants are given no straw, yet we are told, ‘Make bricks!’ Your servants are being beaten, but the fault is with your own people.”

Pharaoh said, “Lazy, that’s what you are—lazy! That is why you keep saying, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to the Lord.’ Now get to work. You will not be given any straw, yet you must produce your full quota of bricks.” The Israelite overseers realized they were in trouble when they were told, “You are not to reduce the number of bricks required of you for each day.” When they left Pharaoh, they found Moses and Aaron waiting to meet them, and they said, “May the Lord look on you and judge you! You have made us obnoxious to Pharaoh and his officials and have put a sword in their hand to kill us.”

“God Promises Deliverance”

Moses returned to the Lord and said, “Why, Lord, why have you brought trouble on this people? Is this why you sent me? Ever since I went to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has brought trouble on this people, and you have not rescued your people at all.”

Exodus Chapter 5

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“God Asks Moses’ to Help Him”All the time Moses’ was living in the land of Midian, the Egyptians were being very cruel to the people of Israel. Finally, the people of Israel cried to the Lord because of their sufferings, and the Lord heard them and looked down from Heaven and pitied them. He decided to send Moses’ to help them.One day while Moses’ was taking care of his sheep out in the country near Mount Horeb, suddenly he saw fire flaming up out of a bush. Moses’ ran over to see what was happening and saw a strange thing; the bush was on fire but didn’t burn up! Just then God called to him from the burning bush, “Moses’ Moses’!”We can hardly imagine how surprised and frightened Moses’ was, but he said, “Yes, Lord, I am listening.” God told him not to come any closer and to take off his sandals because the place where he stood was Holy ground, for God was there.“God said, “I am the God of your fathers. The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.” Moses’ hid his face, for he was afraid to look upon God.Then God told him that He had seen the sorrows of the people of Israel, and had heard their cries, and had come down from Heaven to set them free from the Egyptians.There was a new king in Egypt by this time, not the one who had chased Moses’ out of the country. This new king was called Pharaoh just like all the other kings of Egypt. The Lord told Moses to go to Pharaoh and to tell him to stop hurting the people of Israel and to let them leave Egypt and go back to Canaan. The Lord told Moses he was to lead them out of Egypt and to bring them to that very mountain where He was talking with Moses.But Moses was afraid to go; he was afraid that Pharaoh would hurt him or kill him if he said to stop hurting the people of Israel.But God told him, “I will be with you and help you.”God told Moses to tell the people of Israel that God wanted them to leave Egypt and to follow Moses to a good land where there would be plenty to eat and where everyone would be happy and free.Moses said he was sure that no one would listen to him or believe that the Lord had really sent him. He had a shepherd’s rod in his hand, which the Lord told him to throw on the ground. Moses did, and God made it change into a snake! Moses was afraid of it and ran away.Then the Lord said, “Grab it by the tail.” Moses did, and it was changed back into a shepherd’s rod again.Then the Lord said to Moses, “Put your hand into your coat.” When he took it out, his hand had turned white! It was covered with a dreadful disease called leprosy that made it white.“Put your hand back into your coat again,” God said. When Moses took it out this time, it was well again!God gave Moses power to do these two wonderful miracles so that when the people of Israel saw him do them, they would believe that God had sent him. But if they still would not believe him, even after he had done these two miracles, then Moses must take some water out of the Nile River and piur it on the ground, and the water would change to blood!Moses still didn’t want to go, and he began to make one excuse after another. He could not speak well in front of people, he said.But the Lord told him again to go to Pharaoh, and Moses begged the Lord to send someone else. Then the Lord became angry with Moses for refusing.Moses had a brother whose name was Aaron. God finally said that Aaron could go with Moses and make the speeches to Pharaoh and the people of Israel. God would tell Moses what to say, Moses would tell Aaron what to say, and Aaron would tell the people and the king what God wanted them to know.When the Lord had finished talking with him from the burning bush. Moses went back home and received permission from his father-in-law, whose name was Jethro, to return to Egypt to visit his people.Questions:What was strange about the bush Moses saw?What did God tell Moses to do? Why?What did Moses’ rod turn into? How did he get his rod back?What happened to Moses’ hand when he put it into his coat?Why did God give Moses’ power to do these two miracles?

“Moses at the Burning Bush”

Exodus 3:1-7= Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. There the angel of the LORD appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. So Moses thought, “I will go over and see this strange sight-why the bush does not burn up.” When the LORD saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, “Moses! Moses!” And Moses said, “Here I am.” “Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.” Then he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.” At this, Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God. The LORD said, “I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering.

When the little baby was older, the princess sent for him to come and live in her palace and be her son. She called him Moses’, and Egyptian word that means “taken out” because she had taken him out of the water. He lived with her for many years and was a prince. 

One day when Moses’ was grown up, he went home to visit his real father and mother and the other people of Israel to see how they were getting along. While he was with them, he saw an Egyptian hitting an Israeli was one of his relatives. Moses looked to see if anyone was watching, then killed the Egyptian and hid his body in the sand.

The next day as he was walking around, he saw two Israelis quarrelling. He scolded the man who was in the wrong and asked him why he had hit the other man. This made the man who had done wrong very angry.

“You can’t tell me what to do,” He shouted. “Are you going to kill me as you killed that Egyptian yesterday?” Then Moses’ realized that someone had seen him kill the Egyptian and that everyone knew about it.

When Pharaoh heard what Moses’ had done, he wanted to arrest Moses’ and have him executed for murder; but Moses’ ran far away to the land of Midian, where Pharaoh couldn’t find him. He sat down beside a well trying to think what to do next. Soon some girls came to get some water. There were seven of them, all sisters. They wanted to water their father’s flock, but some shepherds who were standing beside the well told them to go away.

Moses’ told the shepherds to be quiet, and he helped the girls water their flocks. When the girls got home, their father asked why they had come back so quickly. They told him that an Egyptian had saved them from the shepherds and helped them get the water.  

“Where is the man?” their father asked. “Why didn’t you bring him home with you?”  He told them to go back and find him and invite him home for dinner. So Moses’ went home with them. They all wanted him to stay and help them. He liked it so well that he married one of the girls and lived there many years, caring for their fathers sheep.

Questions:

Why did Moses’ get to live in a palace?

Why did Moses’ run away?

How did Moses help the girls at the well?

Exodus 2:10-21=When the child grew older, she took him to Pharaoh’s daughter and he became her son. She named him Moses, saying, “I drew him out of the water.”

(Moses Flees to Midian) One day, after Moses had grown up, he went out to where his own people were and watched them at their hard labor. He saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his own people. Looking this way and that and seeing no one, he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand. The next day he went out and saw two Hebrews fighting. He asked the one in the wrong, “Why are you hitting your fellow Hebrew?” The man said, “Who made you ruler and judge over us? Are you thinking of killing me as you killed the Egyptian?” Then Moses was afraid and thought, “What I did must have become known.” When Pharaoh heard of this, he tried to kill Moses, but Moses fled from Pharaoh and went to live in Midian, where he sat down by a well.  Now a priest of Midian had seven daughters, and they came to draw water and fill the troughs to water their father’s flock. Some shepherds came along and drove them away, but Moses got up and came to their rescue and watered their flock. When the girls returned to Reuel their father, he asked them, “Why have you returned so early today?” They answered, “An Egyptian rescued us from the shepherds. He even drew water for us and watered the flock.” “And, where is he?” Reuel asked his daughters. “Why did you leave him? Invite him to have something to eat.  Moses agreed to stay with the man, who gave his daughter Zipporah to Moses in marriage.

 

Jacob lived in the land of Goshen with his children and their families for seventeen years, but at last the time came for him to die. He became very sick, and a messenger came to tell Joseph that his father was getting worse and wouldn’t live very much longer.

So Joseph took his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim, and went to visit his father. Jacob sat up in bed and talked with him, and told him how kind God had been to him all during his long life. And he told Joseph about the time when God had spoken to him in a dream as a young man, the dream about the stairway going up to heaven, with angels walking up and down it.

Joseph told his father that he had brought his two sons with him so that Jacob could bless them. Jacob said to bring them close to him. Then he put his arms around them and kissed them and asked God to help them. What a happy day that was for Jacob and Joseph and the boys!

“Then Israel called in all his other sons and blessed each one of them. He told them he was going to die, but that God would be with them and bring them back to the land of Canaan. He commanded his sons to take his body back and bury it in the same cave where his grandfather Abraham  was buried, and his grandmother Sarah, his father Isaac and mother Rebekah and his wife Leah.

When Jacob had finished all he had to say to his sons, he lay back on the bed and died. Joseph put his face down to his father’s face and wept over him and kissed him. Then he commanded his servants to embalm his father. This meant to put spices and other and other things into his body to prepare for burial. All the Egyptians mourned for him. For seventy days.
Joseph and his brothers went up to Canaan to bury their father, and many of Pharaoh’s government officials and other wealthy men from the land of Egypt went with them.

After the funeral, Joseph’s brothers were afraid. They thought that now, with their father dead and unable to defend them, Joseph would surely punish them for all the bad things they had done to him.

They sent a message to him saying that before their father died, he had expressed the hope that Joseph would forgive them. When Joseph heard this he cried, for he knew they were afraid of him. His brothers now came and fell down before him and said, “Don’t kill us; we will be your slaves.” But he told them not to be afraid of him, for though they wanted to hurt him by selling him as a slave, yet Good had turn the harm into good by putting him in Egypt where he could save many people from starving and death from the famine. And he spoke kindly to them and comforted them.

Joseph was in Egypt all the rest of his life, and lived to see the birth of his great-grandchildren. But after many years he sent for his brothers and told them that the time had come for him to die.

He asked that his bones be taken back to Canaan when God took the nation of Israel back there again. This didn’t happen for four hundred years, but when Moses’ led the people of Israel back to the Promised Land of Canaan, he took along Joseph’s bones just as Joseph had requested.

So, Joseph died when he was 110 years old. His body was embalmed and put into the coffin in Egypt.

Questions:

Whom did Joseph and his two son’s go to visit?

Where did Jacob want to be buried?

What did Josephs brothers think would happen to them after the funeral? Why?

Where did Joseph want his bones to be buried?

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Sometime later Joseph was told, “Your father is ill.” So, he took his two sons Manasseh and Ephraim along with him. When Jacob was told, “Your son Joseph has come to you,” Israel rallied his strength and sat up on the bed. Jacob said to Joseph, “God Almighty appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan, and there he blessed me and said to me, ‘I am going to make you fruitful and increase your numbers. I will make you a community of peoples, and I will give this land as an everlasting possession to your descendants after you.’ “Now then, your two sons born to you in Egypt before I came to you here will be reckoned as mine; Ephraim and Manasseh will be mine, just as Reuben and Simeon are mine. Any children born to you after them will be yours; in the territory they inherit they will be reckoned under the names of their brothers. As I was returning from Paddan, to my sorrow Rachel died in the land of Canaan while we were still on the way, a little distance from Ephrath. So, I buried her there beside the road to Ephrath” (that is, Bethlehem). When Israel saw the sons of Joseph, he asked, “Who are these? ” They are the sons God has given me here,” Joseph said to his father. Then Israel said, “Bring them to me so I may bless them.” Now Israel’s eyes were failing because of old age, and he could hardly see. So Joseph brought his sons close to him, and his father kissed them and embraced them. Israel (Jacob) said to Joseph, “I never expected to see your face again, and now God has allowed me to see your children too.” Then Joseph removed them from Israel’s knees and bowed down with his face to the ground. And Joseph took both of them, Ephraim on his right toward Israel’s left hand and Manasseh on his left toward Israel’s right hand, and brought them close to him. But Israel reached out his right hand and put it on Ephraim’s head, though he was the younger, and crossing his arms, he put his left hand on Manasseh’s head, even though Manasseh was the firstborn. Then he blessed Joseph and said,

 

“May the God before whom my fathers

Abraham and Isaac walked faithfully,

the God who has been my shepherd

all my life to this day,

the Angel who has delivered me from all harm

—may he bless these boys.

May they be called by my name

and the names of my father’s Abraham and Isaac,

and may they increase greatly

on the earth.”

Genesis 48:1-16

(People asked me how can I get to know the bible. I have been putting these stories on here so that people wil learn the bible: Their choice. Here is a verse or you can read the whole chapter.

Genesis: 47:25— “You have saved our lives,” they said. “May we find favor in the eyes of our lord; we will be in bondage to Pharaoh.”

https://www.facebook.com/offer11/

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The famine was dreadful everywhere. No one had enough to eat. The people of Egypt had used up all of their grain, and now their gardens and fields didn’t give them anymore food, for nothing would grow.

They came to Joseph to buy the corn he had stored away during those seven wonderful years when everything grew so well. But soon all their money was gone. Although there was plenty of food for sale, they did not have any money to buy it.

Then Joseph told them to bring their cattle, for Pharaoh would give them food if they would give him their animals.

But after awhile all their cattle were gone, too, all sold to Pharaoh in exchange for food. Now the people had nothing left but their land and themselves. They said they would give their land to Pharaoh and be his servants if he would give them more food. So, Joseph traded them food for land, until all the land of Egypt belonged to Pharaoh.

At last the seven years of famine ended, and Joseph gave the people seed to plant. For he knew that now the corn would grow again.

He told them that since they had sold all their land to Pharaoh, it wasn’t theirs any longer, but Pharaoh would let them use it if they would give him a fifth of all the food, they raised on it. The people were glad to do whatever Joseph said, for they were thankful to him for saving them from starving. So from then on they gave twenty percent of all their crops to the government of taxes.

Questions:

Why didn’t the people have enough to eat?

Where did Joseph get so much corn to sell?

How did the people buy corn when they ran out of money?

After the famine, why did the Egyptians still give part of their crops to Pharaoh?

{And take your father and your households and come to me, and I will give you the best of the land of Egypt and you will eat the fat of the land.’ “Now you are ordered, ‘Do this: take wagons from the land of Egypt for your little ones and for your wives, and bring your father and come. ‘Do not concern yourselves with your goods, for the best of all the land of Egypt is yours.’” Genesis 45:18-20}

When Pharaoh heard that Joseph’s brothers had come, he was very glad.

He told Joseph to tell them to return for their father and their wives and children and bring them all to Egypt where there was plenty to eat.

“Take some of my wagons for your wives and little ones to ride in,” he said. “Don’t bother to bring any of your furniture and other things, for I will give you everything you need.”

‘Then Joseph gave new clothes to each of them, giving Benjamin more than any of the others! And he sent his father twenty donkey-loads of food and other good things. Then at last he let his brothers start home again to get his father and their families.

When they finally arrived home, what joy there was!

“Joseph is alive, “they shouted. “He is the governor over all the land of Egypt!”

It seemed too wonderful to be true, and Jacob did not believe them at first: but when he saw Pharaoh’s wagons that he had sent, he finally realized that his sons were telling the truth.

“It is proof enough, “he said at last.

“Joseph is Alive! I will go and see him now before I die.”

So Jacob and his children and their families all left their homes in Canaan and started off to the land of Egypt. They stopped briefly at Beer-Sheba, where grandfather Isaac had built and altar many years before and had sacrificed to God.

That night God spoke to Jacob and said, “Don’t be afraid to go down into Egypt, for while you are there, I will make your family grow into millions of people.”

God told Jacob that He would take care of him in Egypt, and that when the time came for him to die, Joseph would be by his side.

So, Jacob and his sons and their families left Beer-Sheba and went on to Egypt. They took their cattle with them and all of their belongings.

Jacob sent Judah ahead to tell Joseph that his father was on the way.

When Joseph heard this, he jumped into his chariot and raced out to meet his father. He and his father wept for joy when they finally saw each other again after all those years apart.

Israel, that was Jacobs brother another name, Remember? Said to Joseph. “Now I can die in peace, for I have seen you again. To think, that you are still alive!” He could scarcely believe it.

“Then Joseph invited some of his brothers to come with him to meet Pharaoh and to tell him that they had arrived with their flocks and herds. When Pharaoh asked them what kind of work they did, they told him they were cattlemen just as their grandfathers had been. Joseph told them to say this because it was the truth, and also because Joseph wanted Pharaoh to send them to live in Goshen, which was the best part of the land of Egypt for raising cattle. So, Pharaoh gave them permission to go there.

Then Joseph took his father to meet Pharaoh and to bless him.

Questions:

How did Pharaoh show his friendship for Joseph and his family?

Describe the reunion of Joseph and Jacob.

What kind of work did Joseph’s brothers do?

What was the name of the part of Egypt where Jacob and his sons lived?

 

Joseph told one of his servants to fill the men’s sacks with grain and to put back their money in the top of the sacks, just as he had before.

“And,” Joseph said, “Put my silver cup in the sack of the youngest boy, Benjamin.” So that is what the servant did.

In the morning, as soon as it was light, the men got on their donkeys and started happily back to Canaan.

But they were hardly out of the city when Joseph told his servant to chase after them and stop them why they had stolen his silver cup? So the servant hurried and caught up with them.

They were very much surprised and wondered what the servant was talking about when he asked them about the cup.

“God forbid that we should do such a thing as to steal the Governor’s cup,” they said.

They reminded the servant that that they had proved their honesty by bringing back the money they found in their sacks before, and they certainly wouldn’t steal the silver cup.

“If any of us stole it, we ourselves will kill him.” They said, “And all the rest of us will go back and be slaves.”

The servant said that only the one who had stolen the cup would be a slave; the rest of them could go on home.

Then they all took down their sacks from the backs of their donkeys and opened them so the servant could look. He began with the sack of the oldest, but the cup wasn’t there. He went on down the line, but none of them had the cup. Then he came to Benjamin. And there was the cup, right at the top of Benjamin’s sack.

Now the poor brothers didn’t know what to do. They tore their clothes in sorrow and finally loaded up their donkeys and went back to the city with Benjamin and the servant.

When they saw Joseph, they all fell to the ground before him. Joseph pretended that he thought that Benjamin had stolen his cup and said they should of known that he would find out about it. Judah stood up and spoke to Joseph for all of them.

“Oh, what shall we say to my lord?” he asked.  “God has found out our wickedness; we are all your slaves.”

But Joseph said that only the one who had stolen the cup would be his slave; the rest of them could go home to their father.

Judah pleaded with Joseph. He reminded him about the first time they had come to Egypt for food, and how Joseph had asked them whether they had a father and a brother at home. And they had told him yes, their father was an old man now, and their brother was still very young. They had told him that their father dearly loved his youngest son, for he was all he had left from his wife Rachel, who was dead.

But Joseph had said that they must bring their younger brother to Egypt with them the next time they came. They said then that the boy could not leave his father, for if he did, his father would die. But Joseph had told them that is they didn’t bring their brother; they could never come back.

Judah explained to Joseph explained to Joseph that when they went home, they had told their father what he had said. And when their father wanted them to go back to Egypt to buy more food, they had told him. We can’t, unless Benjamin goes with us, for the man told us not to come back without him.” Then their father told them that if they took Benjamin, he would die of sorrow.

So, now Judah said, if they went home without Benjamin, their father would die of shock and sorrow. Then Judah begged Joseph to let him stay and be a slave instead of Benjamin, and to let Benjamin go home to his father.

Joseph couldn’t stand it any longer. He ordered all of his servants to leave the room, and Joseph was left alone with his brothers. Then he began to cry, his brothers watch in surprise.

Finally, when he could speak, he told them, “I am Joseph! Oh, tell me more about my father!”

His brothers were too surprised and frightened to say anything. Then Joseph called them over to him.

“I am your brother Joseph!” he said again.

Then at last they realized what he was saying, and what excitement there was as they all hugged and kissed each or!

Joseph told them to stop being sad for what they had done to him, because God had turned it all into good. Joseph loved his brothers and didn’t want them to be unhappy and afraid, and that is why he told them this.

He explained to them that the famine would last another five years, for God had said that there would be no crops for all that time.

“Hurry back to my father,” he told them, “and tell him that his son Joseph says, “God has made me ruler over all of Egypt. Come down to me, and you will live in the best part of the land. Bring your children, your flocks and your herds, and all that you have, and I will take care of you.” Tell my father how great I am in Egypt, and describe all you have seen. Hurry home and bring my father here.”

Then Joseph hugged his brother Benjamin and cried again, for he was so glad to see him. And Benjamin cried too, and so did all the brothers.

Questions:

Why did Joseph tell his servant to hide a silver cup in Benjamins sack?

What did Joseph offer to do, if Joseph would let Benjamin go home?

Did Joseph forgive his brothers for doing wrong to him years ago?

Why?

Genesis 45:1-5

Then Joseph could no longer control himself before all his attendants, and he cried out, “Have everyone leave my presence!” So there was no one with Joseph when he made himself known to his brothers. And he wept so loudly that the Egyptians heard him, and Pharaoh’s household heard about it. Joseph said to his brothers, “I am Joseph! Is my father still living?” But his brothers were not able to answer him, because they were terrified at his presence.Then Joseph said to his brothers, “Come close to me.” When they had done so, he said, “I am your brother Joseph, the one you sold into Egypt! And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you.

 

After many hard days of travel Joseph’s brothers finally returned home and told their father what had happened.

“The Governor of Egypt spoke roughly to us,” they said, “and thought we were spies.  “Oh no,’ we told him. ‘we aren’t spies. We are honest men. We are twelve brothers, though one is dead, and the youngest is with our father in the land of Canaan.

Well I can find out easily enough whether you are telling me the truth, the governor said. “Leave one of your brothers here and take food for your families, and go get your youngest brother and bring him to me. Then I will know that you aren’t spies.

When they went out to unload their donkeys and empty the grain out of their sacks, can you imagine their surprise when each of them found his money at the top of the grain! When Jacob saw the money, he was afraid.

“You have already robbed me of two children.” He said, “for Joseph is gone and Simeon is gone. And now you want Benjamin too.

Then Reuben said to his father, “Kill my two sons’ if I don’t bring Benjamin back to you! I will take care of him.”

But Jacob said Benjamin couldn’t go. Joseph was already dead; and if anything happened to Benjamin, it would be too much to bear.

The famine became worse and worse. Soon the grain brought from Egypt was almost gone and Jacob said to his sons, “Go back to Egypt again, and buy us a little more food.

But Judah told his father they couldn’t go unless Benjamin was with them: for the governor had told them, “You must not return without your brother.

“But why did you tell him you had another brother.  Jacob cried out.

“The man asked us,” They replied.

“He said, is your father still living? “Have you another brother? How could we have known he would say that? You must bring your brother here?

Then Judah told his father he would take care of Benjamin.

“I’ll see that nothing happens to him.” Judah said, “and if I don’t bring him home safely back again, then I will Bear the blame forever. If we had not stayed home so long, we could have gone to Egypt and been back by now.”

{When they came to their father Jacob in the land of Canaan, they told him all that had happened to them. They said, “The man who is LORD over the land spoke harshly to us and treated us as though we were spying on the land. But we said to him, ‘We are honest men; we are not spies. We were twelve brothers, sons of one father. One is no more, and the youngest is now with our father in Canaan.’ “Then the man who is LORD over the land said to us, ‘This is how I will know whether you are honest men: Leave one of your brothers here with me, and take food for your starving households and go. But bring your youngest brother to me so I will know that you are not spies but honest men. Then I will give your brother back to you, and you can trade in the land.'” Genesis 42:29-34}

Finally their father agreed. He told his son’s to take a present to the Governor.

“Take some honey, spices and myrrh, and nuts, and almonds. Take extra money with you, along with the money that came back in your sacks before; perhaps it was a mistake. And take your brother, and go.”

Then Jacob prayed for his sons and begged God to make the Governor kind to them; for if his children were taken away from him, he would die with sorrow.

The brothers took the presents, and the money, and their brother Benjamin and went back to Egypt. Soon Joseph saw them standing before him again.

When Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to his servants, “Take these men home to my house and get dinner ready for them, for they are going to eatwith me.”

Joseph’s brothers were frightened when they saw where the servant was taking them. They thought Joseph was going to keep them as his slaves and never let them go home again. They thought it was because of the money they found in their sacks.

They went to Joseph’s servant and told him all that had happened: that when they were going home to Canaan, they had opened their sacks and found their money there. But they hadn’t stole it, and now they had brought it back again.

Joseph’s servant told them not to worry, there was nothing to fear. He brought their brother Simeon to them, the one who had been left as a prisoner while they went home for Benjamin.

The servant gave them water to wash their feet and hay for their donkeys. Then they got out the present their father had sent to the Governor, to give it to him when he came home at noon, for now they knew they were toeat there.

When Joseph arrived, they brought his present to him and bowed low before him.

He spoke kindly to them and said, “Is your father well, the old man you told me about? Is he still living?

They answered, “Yes, he is in good health, he is still alive.” And they bowed to him again.

Then Joseph saw his brother Benjamin and said, “Is this your youngest brother you told me about? May God be good to you, my son.”

Then Joseph hurried away to find a place where he could be alone. He went into his bedroom and started crying because he was so happy at seeing his little brother again. But then he washed his face, and when he came out again he kept back the tears so that his brothersdidn’t know what he had been doing!

Then they all sat down to eat. Joseph ate by himself at one table, and his brothers were at another table; for Egyptians never ate with Hebrews; and everyone thought Joseph was an Egyptian!

Joseph seated the oldest brother at the head of the table, with the next oldest next to him, and so on down the line according to their ages. Who could have told him their ages, they wondered! But you and I know that no one had to tell him, for he knew it all the time!

Joseph served all the food from his table, and waiters took it over to the table where the brothers were. He gave Benjamin more than the others because he and Benjamin had the same mother, Rachel, who died when Benjamin was born. {All the other brothers had the same father, Jacob, but there were four different mothers.}

Questions:

What did Joseph’s brothers tell their father?

Why did they have to take Benjamin to Egypt?

Would their father let Benjamin go?

Why did Jacob send presents to the Governor?

Did he know it was Joseph?

For whom did Joseph tell his servants to prepare dinner?

Why were Joseph’s brothers frightened?

How do you know?

Do you know why he loved him best?