The Children's Chapel

   Award-winning site, featuring Bible stories from a variety of authors,
   excellent Christian resources for children, and over 140 links to other
                Christian and family-friendly sites for kids.

                  ~ A Ministry of The Missing Link, Inc. ~


Stubborn Pharaoh Learns the Hard Way Who God Is - Part 3
By Sophia Prinsloo and Barbara Wilmerton Haas

[picture of striped graphics divider]

Text Version | Afrikaans

(Continued from Part 2)
www.childrenschapel.org/biblestories/text/mosestenplagues2.txt

When will Pharaoh ever learn?

One would think that after...


...having a FRIGHT from the snake miracle,

...being THIRSTY because all the water has turned
into blood,

...SHUDDERING from frogs jumping all over the place
and on everyone and everything,

...ITCHING and SCRATCHING like mad because of biting
lice everywhere,

...ACHING from being stung by swarming gadflies,

...being FEVERISHLY SICK from boils,

...becoming POOR from almost losing all your
livestock from pestilence,

…seeing everything outside SHATTERED by large
hailstones,

...Pharaoh would give in, acknowledge the Lord our
God's mighty power and let Israel go! But his
heart only grew harder.

Just as Pharaoh was persistent in defying God,
Moses was persistent in seeking and doing God's
will. Deep in prayer, he heard God speak and say,
"Go, tell Pharaoh I said, 'How long will you
refuse to submit and obey Me? If you still refuse
to listen to Me, if you won't recognize my
greatness and let my people go, I am going to
cover all Egypt with a layer of locusts so thick
you won't even be able to see the ground.

"They will fill your palace and every house in
Egypt and devour everything not destroyed by the
hail but sprouted afterwards. It will be the worst
locust plague in the history of Egypt!'"

After Moses conveyed this message of the Lord to
Pharaoh, he simply walked out of the palace.

But Pharaoh's servants were terrified of Moses'
God and told Pharaoh, "Your Majesty, do you want
to destroy us all? Let us try to make a compromise
and allow only the Israelite men to go and worship
their God in the wilderness."

[picture of striped graphics divider]

The servants ran after Moses and Aaron and brought
them back to Pharaoh's court.

"All right, Moses!" Pharaoh said. "You can go,
worship the Lord your God in the wilderness, but
only the men can go!"

"No!" Moses firmly replied. "The Lord our God does
not allow compromises. Our men, women and
children, together with all our animals MUST go!"

Stubborn Pharaoh lost it. "NEVER! Get away from my
sight!" he bellowed as the servants in his court
chased Moses and Aaron out of the palace.

Just as the Lord commanded, Moses stretched out
his rod across Egypt. Suddenly, an east wind blew
in millions of locusts. There were so many that
even the sun was blotted out. They wound up
covering the entire country of Egypt, even filling
every nook and cranny of Pharaoh's palace.

Poor Mrs. Pharaoh shrieked as locusts flew into
her hair. The children went running and hid in the
closets and cabinets. You could hear the creak and
crunch of the locusts as people stepped on them.

The millions of locusts ate everything that was
still green, even the wheat plants that were
supposed to go into the Egyptians' bread recipe
after the plants were ripe and harvested. They had
a real problem! Where would the Egyptians get food
from now?

At once, Pharaoh sent for Moses and Aaron and
pleaded with them: "Please, forgive me! I have
done wrong against the Lord your God and against
you! Pray that this death will depart from me!"

By now, Moses was so tired of Pharaoh constantly
changing his mind and not keeping his word.
However, being the true servant that he was, Moses
called on the Lord to stop the plague of locusts,
as Pharaoh requested. Instantly, the Lord sent a
west wind blowing all the locusts into the sea.
Would you believe, as soon as the very last one
disappeared into the waves, Pharaoh changed his
mind again! He was so stubborn! He did not let the
Israelites go as he had promised he would.

Locusts was the EIGHTH plague the Lord used to
prove his power over Pharaoh and the Egyptian
gods.

Next the Lord commanded Moses: "Stretch your hand
into the air and a blanket of darkness will settle
upon the land of Egypt, such thick darkness that
you will be able to feel it."

Moses obeyed and suddenly everything was dark. The
plague of darkness lasted for three whole days.
The Egyptians could do nothing. They couldn't go
anywhere and they couldn't get anything done. They
couldn't go to work. They couldn't go to the
marketplace. They couldn't even see to cook. What
a mess they were in!

Only in Goshen, where the Israelites lived, there
was light as usual. They were able to do
everything just like any other normal day.

Darkness was the NINTH plague the Lord used to
show his power over Pharaoh and the Egyptian gods.

Pharaoh had reached his wit's end. He called for
Moses and tried to bargain with him. "Okay, Moses.
Go, serve the Lord in the desert! Your women and
children can go with you, but your animals must
remain here!"

Moses quickly refused. "Our animals MUST go with
us, because we must use them for sacrifices to the
Lord our God."

Hearing Moses' response, Pharaoh became infuriated
and did not want to let Israel go. He screamed at
Moses, "Get away from me! Make sure I never see
your face again! If I see you again, I will have
you put to death!"

"You are right Pharaoh," Moses answered. "You
won't see me again! But I have a message from the
Lord. God says, 'By midnight, I will go into Egypt
and the firstborn in every Egyptian family will
die. There will be no difference. The death angel
will visit the homes of the rich as well as the
poor, and even the homes of Egyptian slaves.

"'Not even your son, the crown prince, will escape
from the visit of the death angel. Death will come
even to the firstlings of the remaining animals.
The entire land of Egypt will cry and mourn
bitterly because, in every house of Egypt, the
firstborn will be dead. Only among the Israelites
will not one die, not even among their animals.'"

Moses continued, "All your servants will come and
bow before me, pleading with me to take the
Israelites and leave the land of Egypt. Not only
will they beg us to leave, but they will also give
us presents of silver and gold, and then we shall
go!"

Death of the firstborn will be the TENTH plague
and will show the Lord's mighty power over all the
false gods of Egypt and over life and death.

Moses left Pharaoh's court piqued with anger at
Pharaoh's stubbornness. Actually, we know it was
God who hardened Pharaoh's heart, because He
wanted to show Pharaoh just how powerful and
mighty He was, greater than Pharaoh and all the
gods of Egypt. Not one of Egypt's idols — and
there were many of them — could protect the
Egyptians' water, their animals, their plants,
their health, their light or their lives against
the wrath of the Lord God of Moses and Aaron, and
the Hebrews. God wanted Pharaoh and the Egyptians
to know He was the One true God. There was no
other god beside Him.

During all the time that God poured out his wrath,
there were no plagues whatsoever in the land
Goshen where the Israelites lived. They Hebrews
heard about all the plagues the Lord had brought
upon Egypt and realized that the Lord was mightier
than all the idols of Egypt. Plague after plague,
the Israelites slowly began to believe that God
really could save them from bondage in Egypt. Now
they believed God actually could lead them away to
freedom and into the Promised Land they had heard
so much about from their forefathers and ever
since dreamed about. How exciting!

Up until now, the Hebrews had to do nothing in
order to save themselves from the plagues in
Egypt. However, for this final, TENTH plague,
there was something very important they were going
to be asked to do, and they had to get it right to
be spared from a visit by the death angel. God
wanted to see if they were willing to obey Him.
Otherwise, they, too, could lose their firstborns
to the death angel. We will find out what that was
and solve this mystery in the next story.


"So, you still think you are so great, do you,
defying my power and refusing to let my people go?
Well, tomorrow morning I will send upon you the
heaviest hailstorm in Egypt's history! Heed my
warning and gather your remaining livestock from
the fields. Put them into the barns and get your
people into their houses, because everybody
outside will be struck and killed by huge
hailstones."

Moses did as the Lord told him. The Egyptians who
were terrified and listened to him, brought their
families and their animals to safety before the
hail fell.

The next morning, Moses lifted up his hand towards
the heavens and hailstones as big as bricks rained
down throughout all of Egypt. Loud thunder and
lightning struck everywhere as never before. Only
in Goshen, where the Israelites lived, there was
not a single hailstone, thunder strike or
lightning bolt.

The Egyptians, who did not listen to Moses and
were outside, were killed, both man and beast.
Plants were struck and trees were shredded by the
hailstorm. Each time the thunder struck, Pharaoh's
heart skipped a beat and his face turned pale with
fright. Mrs. Pharaoh and the children hid under
their beds.

Then Pharaoh urgently sent for Moses and Aaron.

By the time they reached Pharaoh, he was more than
ready to speak with them.

"Moses," Pharaoh began, "I have committed a huge
sin by not letting you go. The Lord your God is
right, and my people and I have been wrong.
Please! Beg the Lord your God to stop this
dreadful storm and I promise to let your people go
at once."

Do you think he really meant it this time?

Moses replied, "The plague of hail will stop as
soon as I have gone out of the city, prayed to the
Lord and lifted up my rod towards the heavens.
This will prove that the earth is controlled by
the Lord our God! But I already know that you and
your servants still won't obey Him."

As Moses left the palace, something amazing
happened. While huge hail came thundering down
with lightning striking everywhere, not a single
hailstone or lightning bolt struck Moses! When
Moses reached the outside of the city, and lifted
up his hand, the thunder and lightning, the rain
and the hail stopped immediately!

Relieved, Pharaoh kept on sinning with a stubborn
attitude. He did not keep his word. Again, he
refused to let the Israelites go.

Hail was the SEVENTH plague proving that the Lord
even controls the weather and that Pharaoh and the
Egyptian gods were powerless against Him.

When Moses went back to the Lord in prayer, God
told Moses, "Be encouraged! One day you will be
able to tell your children and grandchildren true
stories about all the wonders I did in Egypt to
prove that I am God. I am going to make Pharaoh
even more stubborn so that I can do many more
miracles to show him my power. By all those
miracles, you and your descendants will know that
I am the Lord your God!

"Go, tell Pharaoh I said, 'How long will you
refuse to submit and obey Me? If you still refuse
to listen to Me, if you won't recognize my
greatness and let my people go, I am going to
cover all Egypt with a layer of locusts so thick
you won't even be able to see the ground.

"They will fill your palace and every house in
Egypt and devour everything not destroyed by the
hail and sprouted afterwards. It will be the worst
locust plague in the history of Egypt!'"

After Moses conveyed this message of the Lord to
Pharaoh, he simply walked out of the palace.

But Pharaoh's servants were terrified of Moses'
God and told Pharaoh, "Sir, do you want to destroy
us all? Let us try to make a compromise and allow
only the Israelite men to go and worship their God
in the wilderness."

The servants ran after Moses and Aaron and brought
them back to Pharaoh's court.

"All right, Moses!" Pharaoh said. "You can go,
worship the Lord your God in the wilderness, but
only the men can go!"

"No!" Moses firmly replied. "The Lord our God does
not allow compromises. Our men, women and
children, together with all our animals MUST go!"

Stubborn Pharaoh lost it. "NEVER! Get away from my
sight!" he bellowed as the servants in his court
chased Moses and Aaron out of the palace.

Just as the Lord commanded, Moses stretched out
his rod across Egypt. Suddenly, an east wind blew
in millions of locusts. There were so many that
even the sun was blotted out. They wound up
covering the entire country of Egypt, even filling
every nook and cranny of Pharaoh's palace.

Poor Mrs. Pharaoh shrieked as locusts flew into
her hair. The children went running and hid in the
closets and cabinets. You could hear the creak and
crunch of the locusts as people stepped on them.

The millions of locusts ate everything that was
still green, even the wheat plants that were
supposed to go into the Egyptians' bread recipe
after the plants were ripe and harvested. They had
a real problem! Where would the Egyptians get food
from now?

The millions of locusts ate everything that was
still green, even the wheat plants that were
supposed to go into the Egyptians' bread recipe
after the plants were ripe and harvested. They had
a real problem! Where would the Egyptians get food
from now?

At once, Pharaoh sent for Moses and Aaron and
pleaded with them: "Please, forgive me! I have
done wrong against the Lord your God and against
you! Pray that this death will depart from me!"

By now, Moses was so tired of Pharaoh constantly
changing his mind and not keeping his word.
However, being the true servant that he was, Moses
called on the Lord to stop the plague of locusts,
as Pharaoh requested. Instantly, the Lord sent a
west wind blowing all the locusts into the sea.
Would you believe, as soon as the very last one
disappeared into the waves, Pharaoh changed his
mind again! He was so stubborn! He did not let the
Israelites go as he had promised he would.

Locusts was the EIGHTH plague the Lord used to
prove his power over Pharaoh and the Egyptian
gods.

Next the Lord commanded Moses: "Stretch your hand
into the air and a blanket of darkness will settle
upon the land of Egypt, such thick darkness that
you will be able to feel it."

Moses obeyed and suddenly everything was dark. The
plague of darkness lasted for three whole days.
The Egyptians could do nothing. They couldn't go
anywhere and they couldn't get anything done. They
couldn't go to work. They couldn't go to the
marketplace. They couldn't even see to cook. What
a mess they were in!

Only in Goshen, where the Israelites lived, there
was light as usual. They were able to do
everything just like any other normal day.

Darkness was the NINTH plague the Lord used to
show his power over Pharaoh and the Egyptian gods.

Pharaoh had reached his wit's end. He called for
Moses and tried to bargain with him. "Okay, Moses.
Go, serve the Lord in the desert! Your women and
children can go with you, but your animals must
remain here!"

Moses quickly refused. "Our animals MUST go with
us, because we must use them for sacrifices to the
Lord our God."

Hearing Moses' response, Pharaoh became infuriated
and did not want to let Israel go. He screamed at
Moses, "Get away from me! Make sure I never see
your face again! If I see you again, I will have
you put to death!"

"You are right Pharaoh," Moses answered. "You
won't see me again! But I have a message from the
Lord. God says, 'By midnight, I will go into Egypt
and the firstborn in every Egyptian family will
die. There will be no difference. The death angel
will visit the homes of the rich as well as the
poor, and even the homes of Egyptian slaves.

"'Not even your son, the crown prince, will escape
from the visit of the death angel. Death will come
even to the firstlings of the remaining animals.
The entire land of Egypt will cry and mourn
bitterly because, in every house of Egypt, the
firstborn will be dead. Only among the Israelites
will not one die, not even among their animals.'"

Moses continued, "All your servants will come and
bow before me, pleading with me to take the
Israelites and leave the land of Egypt. Not only
will they beg us to leave, but they will also give
us presents of silver and gold, and then we shall
go!"

Death of the firstborn will be the TENTH plague
and will show the Lord's mighty power over all the
false gods of Egypt and over life and death.

Moses left Pharaoh's court piqued with anger at
Pharaoh's stubbornness. Actually, we know it was
God who hardened Pharaoh's heart, because He
wanted to show Pharaoh just how powerful and
mighty He was, greater than Pharaoh and all the
gods of Egypt. Not one of Egypt's idols — and
there were many of them — could protect the
Egyptians' water, their animals, their plants,
their health, their light or their lives against
the wrath of the Lord God of Moses and Aaron, and
the Hebrews. God wanted Pharaoh and the Egyptians
to know He was the One true God. There was no
other god beside Him.

During all the time that God poured out his wrath,
there were no plagues whatsoever in the land
Goshen where the Israelites lived. They Hebrews
heard about all the plagues the Lord had brought
upon Egypt and realized that the Lord was mightier
than all the idols of Egypt. Plague after plague,
the Israelites slowly began to believe that God
really could save them from bondage in Egypt. Now
they believed God actually could lead them away to
freedom and into the Promised Land they had heard
so much about from their forefathers. How
exciting!

Up until now, the Hebrews had to do nothing in
order to save themselves from the plagues in
Egypt. However, for this final, TENTH plague,
there was something very important they were going
to be asked to do, and they had to get it right to
be spared from a visit by the death angel. God
wanted to see if they were willing to obey Him.
Otherwise, they, too, could lose their firstborns
to the death angel. We will to find out what that
was and solve this mystery in the next story.


www.childrenschapel.org/biblestories/text/mosestenplagues3.txt

[picture of striped graphics divider]

REMEMBER! 

God is mighty in power and you will be wise to
always be obedient to Him.


THINK! 

1. Where was Moses when the hailstorm stopped?
2. How long was there darkness over all the land
of Egypt?
3. When did Pharaoh tell Moses, "If I see your
face again, I will put you to death!"?
4. Who persisted in disobedience to God?
5. What can we learn from today's lesson?


A VERSE TO LEARN: 

"But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God
resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the
humble" (James 4:6).


PRACTICAL APPLICATION

Seeing fear in his people's eyes when Moses
warned of the approaching locust plague, Pharaoh
began to realize that he must, in some way,
appease this God of Moses and the Israelites. He
thought he would try bargaining with God by being
just a little bit obedient to Him but still having
his own way. He didn't understand that God
doesn't work that way - with Him, it's all
or nothing. 

How about you? Have you ever tried being just a
wee bit obedient? For example, when your parents
asked you to tidy up your room, did you do it
half-heartedly, leaving your closet and dresser
drawers in a mess?

[After discussion:] Remember, just as Pharaoh
wanted to keep the children of Israel in slavery,
the devil wants to keep us enslaved by sin. He
wants sin to be our master. But if we learn to be
obedient to God, He won't allow the devil to
have any hold on us, even if he tried to bargain
with God to keep us under his power. 

Let's now take a moment in prayer and ask God to
forgive us for the times we were just a little bit
obedient but not completely. Let's thank and
praise Him for not letting the devil have a hold
over us as we serve Jesus with all our hearts,
minds, souls and might.


LET'S PRAY: 

[picture of a young boy praying at his bedside
with his dog praying alongside him]

****************************************************
Heavenly Father, forgive us for the times we have
half-heartedly obeyed you. Please help us not to
be disobedient to You, but to seek You in prayer
about everything and be completely obedient to
your will for us. In Jesus' Name. Amen.
****************************************************


CAN YOU FIND THIS STORY IN THE BIBLE? 

Exodus 10:1-11:10


BIBLE STORY ARCHIVE
www.childrenschapel.org/bibstory2.html 

                                 * * *
Copyright (c) 2021 by Barbara Wilmerton Haas.

You may NOT re-post this Bible story. 
However, you may freely link to it,
provided visitors can see our web address
when they click on the link.


-----------------------------------------------------------------

Free Bible Stories! 

To receive a new Bible story each week, enter your
e-mail address under "Subscribe... " at
tscpulpitseries.cis.to/mailman/listinfo/stories

You will be sent a message requesting confirmation
of your subscription request.
IMPORTANT! YOU MUST REPLY to this confirmation
request to activate your subscription 
to this list.

If you were subscribed to our other Bible story
subscription list, your address
will automatically be moved to our new list.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Copyright (c) 2021 - The Lorain County
Free-Net Chapel
North Central Ohio,
U.S.A.

TOP OF THE PAGE

Webmaster: online@misslink.org
Last updated October 6, 2021


Welcome!/ What's Here/ Bible Stories/ E-Mail Us/
Around the Piano/ 4 Things
Events/ Children's Chapel/ Adult
Chapel/ Missing Link/ Links/ Resources