The Ten Plagues Of Egypt
| By : Ajit Hari Sahu ( Posted on :28 Aug, 2005 ) | Total Views : 620 | Previous | Next |
Moses and Aaron went to the Pharaoh of Egypt and asked him to free the people of Israel from their slavery.
'The Lord God of Israel has told us to go and hold a feast in his honour in the wilderness,' said Moses.
'Who is this Lord God?' said Pharaoh. 'Why should I obey him? You may not go.'
'Only for a journey of three days,' said Moses. 'We want to make a sacrifice to God.'
'No,' said Pharaoh. 'Get back to work. We can't afford to let the Israelites stop working, even for three days.'
Pharaoh gave orders to his taskmasters.
'This idle talk about holding a feast to their God is because you don't make them work hard enough. More work will soon tire them out. In future, don't give them any straw for their brick-making. Let them find their own straw.'
The taskmasters drove the Israelites to work with whips.
''Why have you not made more bricks?' they shouted. 'Work harder. Harder! You lazy layabouts!'
The Israelites complained to Pharaoh.
'How can we produce enough bricks when we don't have the straw for them?' they grumbled. 'Why should we be beaten all the time? Give us the straw and we will make as many bricks as you want.'
'No,' said Pharaoh. 'You are lazy. You want time off to hold a feast. Go back to work. No straw, and just as many bricks! Do you understand?'
The Israelites went to find Moses and Aaron.
'Look what you have done now!' they said. 'The taskmasters will kill us with work soon. Why can't you keep your mouths shut? We are worse off than we were before.'
Moses was worried and prayed to God.
'Why did you bother to send me to help them?' he asked. 'I told you I was the wrong man. Ever since I came, things have got worse and worse.'
'It will be all right in the end,' said God. 'Pharaoh will not only set them free, but he will drive them out by force. I made promise to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob that I would give the Israelites the land of Canaan. I will keep my promise.'
'I have told them that,' said Moses. 'They don't believe me, and I can't say I blame them.'
'Speak to Pharaoh again,' said God. 'Don't expect everything to happen at once. His heart may be hardened against you at first, even when I have shown him many miraculous signs, but you will go free in the end.'
'It's all very well,' grumbled Moses, but I get the blame when things go wrong.'
He plucked up his courage and went again with Aaron to see pharaoh.
'Will you let us go and worship in the wilderness?' he asked.
'Why should I?' said Pharaoh. 'Show me a sign that your God wants me to let you go.'
Aaron threw his rod on to the ground and it changed into a snake that hissed at Pharaoh's feet.
'Very clever,' said Pharaoh, 'but my magicians are just as clever.'
He told them to do the same. They all threw down their rods and the rods changed into snakes. But Aaron's snake swallowed up the other snakes.
'Let my people go free, now,' said Moses.
'No,' said Pharaoh, 'I will not.'
Moses prayed to God, and God told Aaron to strike the waters of Egypt with his rod. Moses and Aaron waited for Pharaoh by the River Nile.
'Will you let us go?' asked Moses.
'No,' said Pharaoh.
Aaron struck the water with his rod. The river changed to blood. All the water in the streams, the ponds, the pools, in the jugs, the casks, the mugs throughout Egypt turned to blood.
'Very clever,' said Pharaoh, 'but my magicians are just as clever.'
And they were. The fish died and the rivers stank.
Seven days passed and Gold told Moses and Aaron to try again.
'Let my people go,' said Moses.
'No,' said Pharaoh, 'I will not.'
Aaron stretched his rod over the river and the frogs came out of the water in their hundreds and thousands. They hopped into the houses, they clambered into the beds, they jumped into the people's clothes, they crawled into the ovens and the cooking pots.
'Very clever,' said Pharaoh, 'but my magicians are just as clever.'
And they were. But they could not get rid of the frogs.
'Ask your God to get rid of the frogs,' said Pharaoh, 'and will let your people go.'
Moses prayed to God and the frogs hopped back into the rivers and streams, or died in the streets and houses. The land stank with small of dead frogs.
'Now, let my people go,' said Moses.
'No,' said Pharaoh, 'I will not.'
Aaron struck the dust at Pharaoh's feet with his rod and the dust changed to lice. The lice crawled over all the people and animals throughout Egypt.
'Very clever,' said Pharaoh, 'but my magicians can do the same.'
But they could not.
'This is the work of God,' said the magicians fearfully.
Pharaoh was angry that they had failed.
'Will you let my people go?' said Moses.
'No,' said Pharaoh.
God sent a plague of flies. The flies swarmed through the windows and doors. They settled on the people's food and flew into their eyes. There were flies in all the homes of the Egyptians, but none in the homes of the Israelites.
Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron.
'You may have your feast,' he said, 'but stay at home.'
'That's not enough,' said Moses. 'The Egyptians don't understand our customs. They will stone us. We must go three days' journey into the wilderness.'
'Very well,' said Pharaoh. 'you may go, but not too far. And ask your God to remove these wretched flies.'
'I'll do so,' Moses said, 'but don't change your mind like you did before.'
Moses prayed to God to remove the flies, but when they were gone Pharaoh changed his mind.
'You have cheated,' Moses said. 'Why won't you let us go?'
'Why should I?' said Pharaoh.
'God will send another plague,' warned Moses.
'Let him try,' said Pharaoh.
That very day, all the horses, donkeys, camels, oxen and sheep of the Egyptians died. Not one Israelite animal was hurt.
'Let my people go,' cried Moses.
'No,' said Pharaoh, 'I'll never let you go.'
Moses took handfuls of ashes from the fire and threw them in the air in front of Pharaoh. The fine dust settled on all the Egyptians and caused horrible boils and sores. Even Pharaoh's magicians had boils.
Bur Pharaoh would not let the people go.
Moses stretched his rod towards Heaven and there was a fearful rumble of thunder. Fire ran along the ground and giant hailstones beat down on the plants and trees. The stones killed every Egyptian who was caught in the open. Not one Israelite was hit.
'Stop this hail and fire,' said Pharaoh to Moses. 'Your God is in the right and I am in the wrong. I'll let you go.'
'I don't trust you,' said Moses, 'but I will stop the storm.'
Moses prayed to God. The thunder and the hail stopped. The ripe flax and barley in the fields were all destroyed. Only the unripe wheat and rye were spared.
'Keep to your word,' said Moses to Pharaoh.
'No,' said Pharaoh, 'I will not.'
'How long will you refuse to let my people go?' asked Moses.
'As long as I please,' said Pharaoh.
'If you don't set us free,' said Moses, 'there will be a plague of locusts in the land. They will cover the whole face of the world. Your fathers and grandfathers never saw such a plague before.'
Pharaoh's servants were afraid.
'Let the men go and worship their God,' they said to Pharaoh. 'We can't bear much more of this. All Egypt will soon be destroyed.'
'Very well,' said Pharaoh to Moses. 'You may go. Who will go with you?'
'Everyone,' said Moses. 'Old and young, men and women, flocks and herds. It's a feast for all of us.'
'No,' said Pharaoh. 'Only the men may go. You are planning something evil. The women and children will stay here, to make sure you come back and behave.'
'Then none of us shall go,' said Moses angrily.
He stretched out his rod over the land all that day and all that night. The next morning the wind brought the locusts with it. The whole land became dark with locusts. They ate all the plants and all the fruits that the hailstones had not destroyed already. Not a single green thing was left growing.
Pharaoh called Moses and Aaron in haste.
'I have sinned against you and against your God,' he said. 'Forgive me. Take away these hungry locusts.'
Moses prayed to God and a west wind came and blew the locusts into the Red Sea. Not one locust was left behind.
'Let my people go,' said Moses.
'Do you take me for a fool?' said Pharaoh.
'You still will not let us go?' said Moses.
'No,' said Pharaoh, 'I'll never let you go.'
God sent a plague of darkness. The darkness was so thick that you could feel it with your hand. It lasted three whole nights and days, and covered Egypt, except where the Israelites lived. The Egyptians did not dare to go out.
'You have won,' said Pharaoh to Moses. 'I cannot fight your God. All of you may go, women and children as well. Leave your flocks and herds behind, that's all.'
'That won't do,' said Moses. 'We need them with us to make our sacrifice and hold our feast.'
Pharaoh stood up and shouted with anger.
'You shall not go!' he cried.
Moses prayed to God.
'What shall I do now?' he said. 'The people are still slaves, though you promised us Freedom.'
'I'll send one more plague,' said God. 'After that, Pharaoh will drive you out of the land.'
Moses went to Pharaoh and told him about the last of the ten plagues of Egypt.
'If you don't let us go,' said Moses, 'all the first-born of your children and of your cattle shall die at midnight. All the people of Egypt shall cry out with misery. They shall beg us to leave. Then we shall go.'
'I will not yet you go,' said Pharaoh.
'I think you will,' said Moses.
He turned and left the palace.
What happened at midnight is another tale.
