_The tyrant and the oppressor will always come to destruction, and
the righteous will be protected._
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.