Worth While Stories for Every Day

by Unknown

Moses became a great and wise man in Egypt. The Hebrews, his people, were held in bondage by the wicked Pharaoh. The Lord told Moses to go to Pharaoh and tell him to let the people go into the wilderness to serve Him, but Pharaoh hardened his heart and would not let the Hebrews go.

Then the Lord told Moses to punish the Egyptians.

The first thing that Moses did was to stretch his staff over the rivers of Egypt, and the waters turned to blood, and all the fish died and the people had no water to drink. But Pharaoh would not let the Hebrews go.

Then Moses smote the land and a great plague of frogs came. They jumped into the houses, into the beds, the ovens, and the troughs of the people. Everywhere were the frogs. But Pharaoh would not let the people go.

Then Moses smote the dust of the land and all the ground turned to lice. They crawled over and beast everywhere and infested the houses of the people. But Pharaoh would not let the Hebrews go.

Then Moses brought on a plague of flies; then a disease of all the cattle so that they died; then a plague of hail that beat down all the crops; then a plague of locusts that ate up every green thing in the land; then a plague of darkness that covered the land so thick that it could almost be felt. Still Pharaoh’s heart was hard.

At last the Lord told Moses that He would have all the first-born of the Egyptians slain if Pharaoh still refused to let the people go. To protect the Hebrew children he told the Hebrews to sprinkle the blood of a lamb on their door posts. When the destroying angel came he passed over the houses of the Hebrews where the blood was and slew all the first-born of man and beast in Egypt. There was not a house of the Egyptians where there was not one dead.

Pharaoh now begged Moses and the Egyptians to be gone for fear that the plagues would utterly destroy the Egyptians and all their land. So the hosts of Hebrews were gathered into camp and started into the wilderness, and they were near the Red Sea.

Now, Pharaoh, as soon as the Hebrews were gone, repented of letting them go and followed them with his horses and chariots. When Moses saw the Egyptians coming he stretched forth his hand over the Red Sea and the Red Sea opened and the Hebrews passed over on dry land to the other side.

As soon as Pharaoh saw the Hebrews safe on the other side and the waters of the Red Sea piled up so as to make dry land, he drove in with all his men and chariots to do as the Hebrews had done. But when all the Egyptians were well in, Moses stretched forth his hand again, and the waters closed over Pharaoh and his hosts, and they were drowned, every man and beast.