Exodus – Ascend: Bible Adventures

Burning Bush: Exodus 3-4

Moses was saved from death as a baby, because his mother created an ark baby bed. When placed in the river, it floated to where Pharaoh’s daughter was bathing. She adopted him as her own son and raised him as a future Egyptian royal. As an adult, he knew that he was Hebrew by birth, so one day when he sees an Egyptian beating a Hebrew slave, he involves himself and ends up murdering the Egyptian. Hoping that no one else saw what happened, Moses continues. The following day he sees two Hebrews arguing and tries to break up their fight. They wonder if he will kill one of them as well, and Moses realizes that word is spreading about what he did. He runs for his life away from Egypt. He was 40 years old when he runs away to the wilderness, in the land of Midian.

To set up this room, I like to place a fake tree in the room with “fire” I make from colored tissue paper. Also you might want to collect some sort of walking stick to use as a prop.

Moses makes for himself a new life. He marries and has a couple of children. He has taken up the profession of Shepherd. Life is good for Moses. About 40 years have passed since his plight from Egypt, and although it seems that he has forgotten about his family in Egypt, God had not.

As a shepherd, it would be common for him to take the flock on long journeys in pursuit of finding food. He would have been out in the wilderness in the mundane of the everyday.

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.” Exodus 3:2-4

Moses sees this stage sight; a bush that is on fire, but it wasn’t burning. As he nears the bush, a voice calls out to him. This is Moses first personal encounter with God.

As he neared the bush, he is warned to not come closer. He is told, in fact, to remove his shoes he is standing on Holy ground.

Holy is a word that we say a lot in church, but we often talk about how God is holy without understanding what that means. Holy literally means “set apart” or “separate”. We use the word to describe God, but also other church things like the Holy Bible or Sunday as a Holy Day. What is it about God that makes him separate?

Holy does not mean perfect, although God is perfect. His perfection is partly what makes him Holy. God is Holy because he is separate from everything else. All that we know God created; He is Holy because he alone is the creator. God is Holy in that his love is perfect love, not showing partiality nor wavering. His love is separate from our love and is part of what makes him Holy. All the attributes of God is what makes him Holy.

This is a great video that illustrates the Holiness of God more fully. I take time, as a teach, to introduce to kids these theological concepts. It’s easy to get bogged down in teaching them, so don’t spend too much time on Holiness. You want to explain briefly what makes God holy, because it mentions it.

As God introduces himself to Moses, he tells him he is the God of his forefathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. At hearing this, Moses immediately covers his face and bows down. He has heard of God and the things he has done. God then explains to Moses what his purpose is.

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. So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey—the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. And now the cry of the Israelites has reached me, and I have seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing them. So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.” 3:7-10

I love the all the verbs that God uses: seen, heard, concerned, come down. You can sense the crescendo of concern that the Lord has for his people. It has called him to action; the time has come for the people to return to the land that was promised to Abraham, which is currently being occupied. 🙂

We now enter into a time of Moses questioning, not God himself, but questioning Moses’ ability and qualification. I can’t help but to think that he has punished himself all these years. Punched himself with the fact that he killed a man, ran like a coward, and did nothing to actually help his own people. I really sense a deep guilt in Moses. He knows what he is made of, and it isn’t good.

But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?” 3:11 (emphasis mine)

God’s reply: you are nobody, but I am going to go with you, and I am everything. Oh and by the way, you will know this to be true when you return to this mountain with the people. Talk about having to wait on God for a sign of assurance! (I believe that this encounter is recorded in Exodus 33:12-23. It’s a beautiful exchange between Moses and God, talking about names and God’s presence.)

Moses said to God, “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what shall I tell them?” 3:13

So Moses is nothing, but what about God. Who is he? So far he has only revealed himself as the God of the forefathers. Although we have seen his attributes, never has his name been revealed. It’s not a question of God’s authority, but of his relationship.

It is here that we are first introduced to God’s name. in Hebrew the name is Yahweh, which we also know as Jehovah. The literal translation is “I AM” or “I AM WHO I AM”. It’s a name of completion. He isn’t the God of the sun or water, leaving work to be done by other deities. He alone is Lord. (in the gospel of John, Jesus uses this name on several accounts to describe himself, I Am the bread of life, etc.)

God then tells Moses the whole plan. Go to the leaders of Israel and tell them about the plan. Then ask Pharaoh to go on a three-day journey to worship God. Pharaoh won’t let them go, and so God will strike him with plagues of wonder. Once God is done demonstrating his might, then Pharaoh will let them all free. Oh, and not only will the people go free, the Egyptians will give them their wealth as a departing gift.

Moses answered, “What if they do not believe me or listen to me and say, ‘The Lord did not appear to you’?” 4:1

Here God gives Moses a little glimpse of his own. Moses is told to throw down his staff on the ground. Immediately it turns into a snake. Then he is told, strangely, to grab the snake by the tail. It turns back into a staff.

“This,” said the Lord, “is so that they may believe that the Lord, the God of their fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob—has appeared to you.” 4:5

Then Moses is told to take his hand and put it inside he robe. When he pulls it out, it’s covered in disease. Moses is told to place it back inside his robe, and when he pulls it out, it’s clean again. Finally, if they still don’t believe, Moses is instructed to take water from the Nile. When it’s poured out, it will turn to blood. When the people see these signs (and many others) they will believe.

Moses said to the Lord, “Pardon your servant, Lord. I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue.” 4:10

It’s here that I am feeling like Moses is a normal human being. He knows his limits and is full of doubt. The Lord reminds him that it isn’t Moses, but the Lord doing the work. He will give him the words to say and the strength to say it with boldness, but Moses still doubts.

But Moses said, “Pardon your servant, Lord. Please send someone else.”

Then the Lord’s anger burned against Moses and he said, “What about your brother, Aaron the Levite? I know he can speak well. He is already on his way to meet you, and he will be glad to see you. You shall speak to him and put words in his mouth; I will help both of you speak and will teach you what to do. He will speak to the people for you, and it will be as if he were your mouth and as if you were God to him. But take this staff in your hand so you can perform the signs with it.” 4:13-17

Although Moses is free to express his doubts and fears to God, the Lord is frustrated with Moses. In a display of his omniscience, he allows Moses to have help, in the form of his older brother Aaron. Who, by the way, is presently traveling to the wilderness to meet Moses. Together they will appear to Pharaoh and proclaim all that God tells them.

For this craft I cut a simple tree/bush shape from construction paper. I also cut tissue paper into small squares. Using the end of a pencil, wrap the paper and then glue into place to create s fire effect.

All scripture is in bold print and is used from the NLT.

New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Baby Moses: Exodus 1-2

To set up the room, I created a small river area. I also had a basket and baby doll to use for Moses. You can use any blue fabric, paper, or even corubuff.

These are the names of the sons of Israel who went to Egypt with Jacob, each with his family: Reuben, Simeon, Levi and Judah; Issachar, Zebulun and Benjamin; Dan and Naphtali; Gad and Asher. The descendants of Jacob numbered seventy[a] in all; Joseph was already in Egypt.

Now Joseph and all his brothers and all that generation died, but the Israelites were exceedingly fruitful; they multiplied greatly, increased in numbers and became so numerous that the land was filled with them. Exodus 1:1-7

So Joseph and his family were saved from the severe plague that came to the land. They moved to Egypt, in the land of Goshen and lived a very good life. A different family came to power in Egypt, 400 years after Joseph. This Pharaoh had to regard for what Joseph had done. He was concerned for the fortune of Egypt. Here in the middle of Egypt was this huge people living. What if one day they decided to attack Egypt and come to power, most likely in the same manner that he had done.

So they put slave masters over them to oppress them with forced labor, and they built Pithom and Rameses as store cities for Pharaoh. But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and spread; so the Egyptians came to dread the Israelites and worked them ruthlessly. They made their lives bitter with harsh labor in brick and mortar and with all kinds of work in the fields; in all their harsh labor the Egyptians worked them ruthlessly. 1:11-14

No longer were they free. Now the Hebrews, or people of Israel, were forced into hard labor. They were forced to make bricks and work in the fields. Then matters become worse. In a plan to decrease the number or Hebrews and to cause devastation, the midwives are commanded to kill newborn baby boys.

The midwives, however, feared God and did not do what the king of Egypt had told them to do; they let the boys live. Then the king of Egypt summoned the midwives and asked them, “Why have you done this? Why have you let the boys live?”

The midwives answered Pharaoh, “Hebrew women are not like Egyptian women; they are vigorous and give birth before the midwives arrive.”

So God was kind to the midwives and the people increased and became even more numerous. And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families of their own.

Then Pharaoh gave this order to all his people: “Every Hebrew boy that is born you must throw into the Nile, but let every girl live.” 1:17-22

This sets the scenario for the account of Exodus. Now we are introduced to the unlikely hero, but he is brought into the story as a small newborn boy. During this time, it was a terrible thing to be born a Hebrew boy.

Now a man of the tribe of Levi married a Levite woman, and she became pregnant and gave birth to a son. When she saw that he was a fine child, she hid him for three months. But when she could hide him no longer, she got a papyrus basket for him and coated it with tar and pitch. Then she placed the child in it and put it among the reeds along the bank of the Nile. His sister stood at a distance to see what would happen to him. 2:1-4

The mother hid the baby as long as she could in the home. It’s easy to hide a newborn who sleeps most of the time. As he grew older, it was a lot let easy to hid his cries or giggles. At 3 months old, she did the difficult thing of placing him in a small boat and into the Nile river. She had her older daughter, Miriam, watch over the baby to make sure he was safe.

I think that the mother knew the river well, and purposely had Moses near the bathing area of the royals. We are told that Pharaoh’s daughter happened to be bathing, and found the small boat with the baby inside. He was crying, and she felt sorry for him. She knew he was Hebrew and I am certain that she knew the drastic law that he father had made about the Hebrew boys. She was filled with compassion and decided to raise him as her own.

Then his sister asked Pharaoh’s daughter, “Shall I go and get one of the Hebrew women to nurse the baby for you?”

“Yes, go,” she answered. So the girl went and got the baby’s mother. Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Take this baby and nurse him for me, and I will pay you.” So the woman took the baby and nursed him. 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.” 2:7-10

Miriam goes and brings back her mother to the young princess. She pays the mother to nurse and care for her own son. When Moses reaches the age of weaning, he is returned to the princess to be raised in the royal house.

Many years pass, 40 to be exact. Moses is now grown. He is aware that he is Hebrew, but yet has been given this opportunity as an Egyptian Royal.

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. 2:11-12

We begin to see in Moses a dissatisfaction. He sees the way his people are being treated harshly and is moved. He feels compelled to take matters into his own hands. I like to remind kids at this point that the Bible doesn’t tell us how Moses kills the Egyptian. There are many movies that show him doing it one way or another, but the Bible doesn’t tell us. What we do know is that he thinks no one else has seen what he’s done and he tries to hide it.

They next day, Moses sees two Hebrew men fighting. He tries to break up the fight, but is shocked at the response of one of the men.

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.” 2:14

Sure enough, word gets to Pharaoh himself, and Moses is forced to run away to save his life. He was given an opportunity to possibly save his people, and he has squandered it. He runs deep into the wilderness. He finally arrives in the area of Midian. He meets a lovely lady, one of 7 daughters. He is given a new start far from the trouble that he left behind in Egypt.

Although it seems that Moses has forgotten his people back in Egypt, the Lord had not.

During that long period, the king of Egypt died. The Israelites groaned in their slavery and cried out, and their cry for help because of their slavery went up to God. God heard their groaning and he remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac and with Jacob. So God looked on the Israelites and was concerned about them. 2:23-25

This craft requires slightly more prep. I used crepe paper streamers, and cut spots to make the grass reeds on the Nile. I also used popsicle sticks for Moses. The spoon kind work best, or you can cut wide sticks in half. I wrapped the babies with first aide tape. To create the little raft for Moses, I cut burlap into small squares and staples the sides together to hold. Put all the pieces together to create the scene.

All scripture is in bold print and is used from the NLT.

Plagues 2-9: Exodus 8-10

This lesson, because of the length and all of the things we will be talking about, takes a little more preparation. I plan to use a prop for each plague that we will talk about, and place a bucket out to use. For my lesson, I will choose one child to represent all of Egypt, and will be pouring out or placing the plague on that child, at the front of the classroom. We talked about the first plague last time, so will only briefly review. For the frogs, I made about 20 of these paper roll frogs. For the gnats (or sometimes referenced as lice), I purchased confetti, flies are small cut up black yarn, livestock I have plastic toys, boils I will place round stickers all over the child, hail storm will be a paper wad storm, Locusts- I will attach a bunch of clothes pins on the child, and finally darkness will just be turning the lights off.

Moses answered the call that God gave him to return to Egypt, with his brother Aaron. They were to go to Pharaoh and request for the people to be allowed to go on a 3-day journey to worship their God. But, God had told Moses, that Pharaoh would not allow them to leave, so he would send plagues against Egypt. There was a 3-fold reason that God would do this, that we will talk about in just a few minutes.

Last time we met, Moses had come to Pharaoh mad his request. In turn, Pharaoh punished the people by making them work harder. Moses and Aaron came back to Pharaoh to show him the signs of the stick/snake, but even Pharaoh’s magicians were able to repeat this. Then the next day, Aaron turned the Nile River and all the water in Egypt to blood.

This is where our story picks up, it’s been at least a week since Moses and Aaron appeared to Pharaoh and turned the water to blood.

“Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh and say to him, ‘This is what the Lord says: Let my people go, so that they may worship me. If you refuse to let them go, I will send a plague of frogs on your whole country. The Nile will teem with frogs. They will come up into your palace and your bedroom and onto your bed, into the houses of your officials and on your people, and into your ovens and kneading troughs. The frogs will come up on you and your people and all your officials.’” Exodus 8:1-4

There is a pattern of the interactions of Pharaoh and Moses. Sometimes Moses with go to Pharaoh and ask for the people to be set free. There are occasions, however, that God send the plague without warning Pharaoh. When asked, Pharaoh always says “no”, then the plague comes. Sometimes the plague goes away on its own, but sometimes Pharaoh will ask for Moses to pray for the plague to go away. When Pharaoh asks for the plague to go away, he promises to let the people to go, but always changes his mind, essentially lying to Moses. There is also the pattern of Pharaoh having a hard heart; sometimes it is his own pride, but there are other times that God hardens the heart. The ultimate judgment of God is coming.

So Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt, and the frogs came up and covered the land. But the magicians did the same things by their secret arts; they also made frogs come up on the land of Egypt.

Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said, “Pray to the Lord to take the frogs away from me and my people, and I will let your people go to offer sacrifices to the Lord.”

Moses said to Pharaoh, “I leave to you the honor of setting the time for me to pray for you and your officials and your people that you and your houses may be rid of the frogs, except for those that remain in the Nile.”

“Tomorrow,” Pharaoh said.

Moses replied, “It will be as you say, so that you may know there is no one like the Lord our God. The frogs will leave you and your houses, your officials and your people; they will remain only in the Nile.”

After Moses and Aaron left Pharaoh, Moses cried out to the Lord about the frogs he had brought on Pharaoh. And the Lord did what Moses asked. The frogs died in the houses, in the courtyards and in the fields. They were piled into heaps, and the land reeked of them. But when Pharaoh saw that there was relief, he hardened his heart and would not listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the Lord had said. 8:6-15

(When I told this portion, I dumped about 20 of these frogs on a child I had selected at the beginning of the lesson. From here on, after each plague, I poured the props mentioned above on the one child. It was effective, in that the child became weary of my props and was slightly frightened about the anticipation of what was next. It made a big mess, but very effective.)

The next plague, God instructs Moses to tell Aaron to strike the round with his staff. There is no warning to Pharaoh to set the people free. Some have pointed out the pattern of 3 plagues (warning, warning, no warning). When the ground is struck, the dust floats in the air and turns to gnats, or sometimes understood as lice, both equally annoying. This is the first time the Magicians are not able to perform the sign and even warn Pharaoh that this is the finger tip to God’s power and might. They seem to go away on their own, because there is no other interaction between Moses and Pharaoh, except that Pharaoh hardens his heart to the matter.

Some time passes, presumably, and Moses (not Aaron) will now go to Pharaoh. He is instructed to stand in the path he would travel, and again request that the people be allowed to go worship God. If he doesn’t swarms of flies will come, even to the officials, and they will be so great, that they will coat everything around them. This time, however, God’s people will not have the plague (and from now on the Israelites will not suffer.) A distinction has been made between he people of God and the people of Egypt. The flies come, destructive to the land. Pharaoh calls for Moses to come and negotiate. Pharaoh will let the people worship their God, but they have to do it in Egypt.

But Moses said, “That would not be right. The sacrifices we offer the Lord our God would be detestable to the Egyptians. And if we offer sacrifices that are detestable in their eyes, will they not stone us? We must take a three-day journey into the wilderness to offer sacrifices to the Lord our God, as he commands us.”

Pharaoh said, “I will let you go to offer sacrifices to the Lord your God in the wilderness, but you must not go very far. Now pray for me.” 8:26-28

Moses prays, the flies leave, Pharaoh hardens his heart, and the people are not allowed to go. Remember that God told Moses the end to all of this before he even began. The people will not be allowed to be free until the death of the firstborn, the judgment for the Pharaoh that killed the Hebrew boys.

Again, Moses is told to go to Pharaoh. This time he is warned that the plague coming will be against all of Egypt, not Israel, and will deal with their livestock. Their horses, cattle, camels, sheep and goats will be struck, even with a specific time- the next day. When it happens, Pharaoh investigates and finds that the Hebrew livestock are untouched by the plague, but the Egyptians alone suffered. Still he refuses to humble himself. The loss is absorbed, not all of the livestock is gone, but the damage is great.

Following the pattern of going to Pharaoh twice, and then just bringing a plague without warning, Moses and Aaron are instructed to take some soot without appearing to Pharaoh. They are to collect the black ash, throw it in the air, and as it drift, it will spread a disease of boils. The people of Israel will also not suffer. Even the magicians were covered in boils, and couldn’t stand in service. Pharaoh hardens his heart, and refuses to let the people go.

Here the Plagues begin to take a more serious and destructive turn. Moses is instructed to go to Pharaoh again.

Let my people go, so that they may worship me, or this time I will send the full force of my plagues against you and against your officials and your people, so you may know that there is no one like me in all the earth. For by now I could have stretched out my hand and struck you and your people with a plague that would have wiped you off the earth. But I have raised you up for this very purpose, that I might show you my power and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth. You still set yourself against my people and will not let them go. Therefore, at this time tomorrow I will send the worst hailstorm that has ever fallen on Egypt, from the day it was founded till now. Give an order now to bring your livestock and everything you have in the field to a place of shelter, because the hail will fall on every person and animal that has not been brought in and is still out in the field, and they will die.’” 9:13-19

Some of the Egyptians heed the warning. They fear God and bring their livestock in. Not only are the plagues more severe, but the people are now given an opportunity to exercise their own faith. The people of Israel are protected, but who do the people of Egypt trust and believe in?

The hail storm comes and devastates the land. Everything that is exposed is destroyed including plants, animals, and people, except not where the Israelites are. During the storm, Pharaoh calls for Moses and Aaron to come.

Then Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron. “This time I have sinned,” he said to them. “The Lord is in the right, and I and my people are in the wrong. Pray to the Lord, for we have had enough thunder and hail. I will let you go; you don’t have to stay any longer.”

Moses replied, “When I have gone out of the city, I will spread out my hands in prayer to the Lord. The thunder will stop and there will be no more hail, so you may know that the earth is the Lord’s. But I know that you and your officials still do not fear the Lord God.” 9:27-30

Sure enough, when the storm stops, Pharaoh hardens his heart and doesn’t let the people go. Although the storm stopped, the early crops are a complete loss.

Moses and Aaron are sent back to Pharaoh. This time they ask for the people to go and worship. If Pharaoh refuses, locusts will be sent to eat the remaining crops that Egypt has. At this point, the officials step up and beg Pharaoh to actually listen to Moses.

Pharaoh’s officials said to him, “How long will this man be a snare to us? Let the people go, so that they may worship the Lord their God. Do you not yet realize that Egypt is ruined?”

Then Moses and Aaron were brought back to Pharaoh. “Go, worship the Lord your God,” he said. “But tell me who will be going.”

Moses answered, “We will go with our young and our old, with our sons and our daughters, and with our flocks and herds, because we are to celebrate a festival to the Lord.”

Pharaoh said, “The Lord be with you—if I let you go, along with your women and children! Clearly you are bent on evil. No! Have only the men go and worship the Lord, since that’s what you have been asking for.” Then Moses and Aaron were driven out of Pharaoh’s presence. 10:7-11

Moses raises his hands and an east wind blows in a swarm of locusts that destroy the remaining crops. Quickly, Pharaoh has Moses and Aaron summoned, tells them what a sinner he is and begs for Moses to pray for relief. I think it’s interesting that there are no empty promises here. Moses simply prays, as if to say he knows this is meaningless. He’s ready to get on with the remaining two judgments of God. Moses prays, the winds change and the locusts leave. Pharaoh’s heart is hardened by God, and the people remained in Egypt.

The 9th plague, following the pattern again, Moses doesn’t appear to Pharaoh. He stretches his hand out to the sky and a darkness comes. It is so dark that the people can’t even see their own hands. The whole land, except where the Israelites are, do nothing for 3 days. The darkness isn’t only visually dark; the Bible describes it as a darkness that can be felt, creepy and scary.

Pharaoh calls for Moses. The people can go worship, but they can’t bring their animals with them. “What are we supposed to worship with,” Moses replied. Pharaoh’s heart is hardened again, and refused to let the people go. This time, he throws Moses out with a warning. He never wants to see Moses again, and this is the last time that Moses ever appeared before him.

The last plague will be the final blow. It is the last plague that full redemption comes. Not only will Egypt pay for what was done to the people of God, but Israel will be purchased through the power and might of God alone. They will become his people, bought by the salvation of their oldest sons.

The craft for this week is a circle that shows all 10 plagues. For my kids, I colored the drawing for them, to save time, and then had it shrunk 50% onto cardstock paper so that it fit on a journal page. The kids cut the circles out and put them together using a brad.

All scripture is in bold print and is used from the NLT.

First Plague: Exodus 5-7

Moses joins Aaron, and they travel back to Egypt. They first go to the leaders of Israel and tell them the message that God has sent. They show the signs of the snake and leprosy to the leaders. They believe what they see and hear and have a time of worship. With the people ready to follow Moses and Aaron, now the real work begins. It’s important to note that God has already told Moses that Pharaoh will not listen.

Moses and Aaron meet with Pharaoh (which is a different Pharaoh than from when Moses lived there) and they ask that the people are allowed to go to the wilderness and worship God for 3 days. Pharaoh responds with a mockery of God and refusal to release them from their labor. Then to make it matters worse he sends out tough instructions.

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.” Exodus 5:6-9

The slave drivers pass the info to the Hebrew overseers. They were to still make the same amount of bricks, but they had extra work, because they had to collect the hay needed to make the bricks stick. At the end of the day, when the work wasn’t completed the overseers were punished by being severely beaten. They went to Pharaoh to complain.

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.” 5:17-21

The leaders were no longer so anxious to follow Moses’ leadership. Everything wasn’t fine and dandy like they expected. This was going to continue to become increasingly more difficult and uncomfortable. Moses, no doubt, felt the pressure as their leader. He didn’t want to be the leader in the first place and tried to talk God out of it at the burning bush. It seemed he was right; he was a terrible leader.

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.”

I think it’s significant here to mention that Moses’ is being very honest with God. Although, yes some doubt is involved, Moses is bringing his real concerns before the Lord. It’s not to abandon what God is doing, but simply to make sure he is actually doing what God is making of him. The Lord’s response in gentle but firm.

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh: Because of my mighty hand he will let them go; because of my mighty hand he will drive them out of his country.”

God also said to Moses, “I am the Lord. I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob as God Almighty, but by my name the Lord I did not make myself fully known to them. I also established my covenant with them to give them the land of Canaan, where they resided as foreigners. Moreover, I have heard the groaning of the Israelites, whom the Egyptians are enslaving, and I have remembered my covenant.

“Therefore, say to the Israelites: ‘I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. I will free you from being slaves to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment. I will take you as my own people, and I will be your God. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. And I will bring you to the land I swore with uplifted hand to give to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob. I will give it to you as a possession. I am the Lord.’” 6:1-8

God’s response is that this is not going to be comfortable or good or easy, but especially for Egypt. Currently they are asking to go for 3 days journey, but when they leave, it will be permanent and by the will of the entire nation of Egypt. It will be with great might, brute force, and deathly judgement on the nation of Egypt. God will redeem their captivity to make the people His own.

Moses goes to the people to tell them this message from God, but they won’t listen. They refuse to follow Moses. Then God tells Moses to go back to Pharaoh and Moses refuses. He tells God that the people won’t even listen to him, so why should the king of Egypt?!

God tells him to go, but again he says he can’t, because he isn’t good at speaking. God then send Aaron with Moses to do the speaking for him. In the conversation, you can see how God and Moses interact with each other. There is a certain partnership. It’s not so much that Moses is doubting God, but has a more realistic view, as if to say, “God, Pharaoh isn’t doing what you say even though I am.”

Then the Lord said to Moses, “See, I have made you like God to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron will be your prophet. You are to say everything I command you, and your brother Aaron is to tell Pharaoh to let the Israelites go out of his country. But I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and though I multiply my signs and wonders in Egypt, he will not listen to you. Then I will lay my hand on Egypt and with mighty acts of judgment I will bring out my divisions, my people the Israelites. And the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord when I stretch out my hand against Egypt and bring the Israelites out of it.” 7:1-5

God assures him, yes, Moses, you are correct. But I will not stop doing what I am doing. I will rise up against Egypt, stronger and stronger until I break them. I will win, Pharaoh will refuse to bend, but I will break him.

After this, Moses then goes and does as he is commanded. He appears to Pharaoh. When asked for a sign, Aaron throws the staff on the ground and it turns to a snake. Pharaoh has his own wise men there, and they are also able to perform a similar trick. However, Aaron’s snake came and ate the other snakes, demonstrating strength and power. Still Pharaoh refuses, which is not a surprise.

Moses is told to go to Pharaoh the next morning, most likely while he is bathing, down at the Nile river.

Moses and Aaron did just as the Lord had commanded. He raised his staff in the presence of Pharaoh and his officials and struck the water of the Nile, and all the water was changed into blood. The fish in the Nile died, and the river smelled so bad that the Egyptians could not drink its water. Blood was everywhere in Egypt.

But the Egyptian magicians did the same things by their secret arts, and Pharaoh’s heart became hard; he would not listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the Lord had said. Instead, he turned and went into his palace, and did not take even this to heart. And all the Egyptians dug along the Nile to get drinking water, because they could not drink the water of the river. 7:20-24

And so the battle of the gods is begun. Moses and Aaron will continue to pursue the freedom of the Israelites. Pharaoh will refuse to listen, even to his own advisers. In the end, God will win, which he always does. The redemption of Israel serves as a beautiful illustration of our own redemption from Sin.

For the craft I drew a picture of the Nile river. The kids can color it in, or have it precolored like mine. Then the kids painted in the red “blood” on the Nile.

All scripture is in bold print and is used from the NLT.