The 10 Plagues (Exodus6-9)

 When we left Moses last time, he was complaining to God that the Hebrews were worse off than when he arrived and asked the king to let them go.

God said to Moses. “Don’t worry Moses. This is all part of my plan. The king will keep refusing to let the Hebrews go, and I will keep demonstrating that I am God. By the time I’m done with him and Egypt, he will be very anxious to let you go.” Then God continued. “Go tell the Hebrews that I will free them from slavery. They will be my own special people. They will always remember that I brought them out of slavery to the country that I promised to Abraham years ago.”
 So Moses went and told the Hebrews what God had said, but they wouldn’t listen to Moses. They were still angry that they were being treated even worse now that Moses began pleaded to the king for their release. Moses went back to God.

 "Now go tell the king to let the Hebrews go.” God told Moses.
 “But LORD!” Moses exclaimed. “My own people won’t listen to me. How can I expect the king of Egypt to listen! I am not a good speaker at all. I stutter when I talk!”
 God responded. “Your brother Aaron will be with you. He’ll speak the words that I command to the king. Don’t be surprised if the king still refuses. He is very stubborn. When he asks for a miracle, throw your staff on the ground and it will turn into a snake.”

 Moses and Aaron went back to see the king. Moses was 80 years old by now. The king asked for a miracle. Aaron threw the staff on the ground and it became a snake. The king called his magicians and wizards. With their magic, they also turned sticks into snakes! But guess what. Aaron’s snake ate the magician’s snakes! But the king was not swayed to let the Hebrews go. He turned his back on Moses and Aaron and asked his guards to remove them from his sight.

 Moses returned to God. "The king is very stubborn. Go back to him and tell him that if he does not let the Hebrew people go, that I will turn the Nile river to blood.God said. “When the king says “No” point your staff at the river and it will turn to blood.”
 Moses and Aaron returned to the king and he refused to let the Hebrews go. Moses pointed his staff toward the river and it turned to blood, but the king still refused. All of Egypt was suffering because of the king’s hard heart. New well had to be dug for water and all the fish in the river died and it started to smell really bad.

 Moses got some further instructions from God. “Go back to the king and if he refuses to let the Hebrews go, that the whole land of Egypt will be covered in frogs. They will be everywhere, even in the beds and and kitchens and bathrooms.”
 Moses and Aaron did as God asked and when the king refused AGAIN, Aaron pointed Moses’ staff toward the lake and millions and millions of frogs came out and covered the land! This got the king’s attention. He called Moses and Aaron into his presence. "If you get rid of all the frogs by tomorrow, I will let your people go.” The king said.

Moses prayed to God and God caused all the frogs to die. The egyptian people had to sweep up all the dead frogs and pile them up in the streets and it really began to stink. The king was glad that all the frogs were gone, but he had lied to Moses and Aaron and still refused to let the Hebrews go!


 Trusting God is hard sometimes. Especially when we don’t see anything happening! But we have to remember that God is in control. "His ways are not our ways...they are better" :o) (Isaiah)

Moses is reunited with his brother Aaron.

 So Moses FINALLY obeyed God. He returned home and asked his father-in-law, Jethro, if the sheep could be cared for by someone else. “I need to go back to Egypt. I haven’t seen my family in forty years. They are still being held as slaves to the Egyptians." Moses said.
 “Don’t worry about the sheep Moses. Go with my blessing." Jethro replied.
 Moses packed up his stuff and his staff and loaded them on a donkey. Then Moses, his wife and his sons headed for Egypt. Moses was probably a little worried about the king and his men because when he left Egypt forty years ago, they wanted to kill him.

God knew Moses was a little worried and spoke to him on the way. “Don’t be afraid to return to Egypt, because everyone who wanted to kill you is dead.” Moses felt a lot better knowing that.

The journey took several days. As Moses and his family were making their way through the wilderness to Egypt, God spoke to Moses’ brother, Aaron. “Go out into the wilderness and meet your brother Moses.”
 Aaron  did exactly as God said and he met Moses in the middle of the wilderness! Moses told Aaron how God spoke to him through a burning bush and all that God had said to him.  Aaron believed every word. After all, God spoke to him too. In hundreds of miles of wilderness, God told him the exact place to meet Moses. And He told him the exact time too. He knew that God was up to something!
 When Moses and Aaron met with their own people, Moses threw his staff on the ground and it turned to a snake, then he picked it up by the tail and it turned back into his staff. Then he told them about God’s plan to free them from slavery. They were so amazed that God heard their prayers that they fell on their knees and worshiped Him.

 Moses was feeling a little more confident now as he and Aaron left for the king’s palace. Everything was going just as God had said.  When they stood before the king, Aaron did the speaking. He said to the king exactly what Moses told him to say. “The God of Israel says ‘let my people go!”

 “Is that so.” Retorted the king. “He may be your God, but he is not mine! I will do as I wish and since you have come here with such a ridiculous request,  I wish to make it even harder on the Hebrew slaves. From now on, the Hebrew slaves will have to make twice as many bricks as before! And the Egyptian laborers will no longer gather the straw needed to make the bricks. The slaves will have to go out and gather their own straw!” Then the king summoned his guards. “Remove these two Hebrews from the palace at once!”

The slave drivers were brutal on the Hebrew slaves demanding more and more, and when they didn’t make enough bricks, the slaves were beaten.
 One of the Hebrew leaders went to the king and said. “ You are demanding more than we can do. We are being beaten for something that impossible!”
 The king replied. “It is because you sent two of your people in here  and told me to set all the slaves free that you are being forced to do more.”
 The Hebrew leader left the palace. He knew the king was upset about Moses' and Aaron’s visit. On his way back home he ran into Moses and Aaron. “May God punish you for getting us into this terrible situation with the king!”
 Then Moses went back to God. “Why did you send me to the king! See now it is worse for the Hebrew slaves than before I got here! You haven’t even begun to rescue them!”

 Next time we’ll see what God has planned for Moses and Aaron.  God is always working behind the scenes. He did in Moses’ time and He does today. Did you know that God has a wonderful plan for your life? He does. God wants to use you for His purposes. Sometimes we can’t see or figure out what God is up to, but that’s OK. We know that He is working behind the scenes. That is where our faith and trust come in.  Proverbs 3:5 says "Trust in God with all your heart. Don’t do things your own way. Look to Him for direction and He will lead you in the right direction.”

Moses’ Staff Turns into a Snake! (Exodus 4)

When we left off last time, God was talking to Moses through a burning bush. God had laid out His plan to Moses. He was going to use Moses to get the Hebrews out of slavery in Egypt. God answered all of Moses’ questions..... well not all of them.
 Next Moses asked,” What if they say”You did not talk to God!” “What do I do then?”
"What is that in your hand Moses?” God asked.
 “A staff.” He replied.
“Throw it on the ground” God said.
 Moses through his staff on the ground and it turned into a snake! He got scared and started to run.

“Moses! Pick up the snake by it’s tail!” God commanded.
Moses probably thought to himself. “Why did I have to ask so many questions? Now I have to pick up this huge snake!” But he did as God commanded, and the snake turned back into his staff!
 "Now put your hand inside your robe and take it out.” God said.
 Moses did it and when he pulled out his hand, it was gross and diseased.
“Now put it back in your robe and take it out.” God continued. Moses did it and his hand was restored to normal. I’m sure Moses was glad about that!
 God told Moses that the people would probably believe him after he did the snake thing and the diseased hand thing.... but if they didn’t... He had one more sign. He told Moses that if they still didn’t believe, to take some water from the Nile River and pour it on the ground and it would turn to blood.
“That will convince them.” God said.
 So now do you think Moses was convinced? Nope! Now Moses was trying to come up with excuses why he couldn’t go talk to the people and to the king.

“But God,” Moses said.” You know that I am not a very good talker. I get nervous and I stutter. Sometimes I forget what I was going to say and it comes out all wrong!
 "Moses, Moses Moses! Who created that mouth of yours?” God asked.
 “You did.”
 “That’s right, and I gave you those ears to hear and those eyes to see too. Now go use what I gave you and go talk to the people and to the king. I will be with you every step of the way, helping you and teaching you what to say.” God replied.
 Moses finally ran out of questions and excuses."Please God! Send someone else to do it.” he said.
God finally became angry at Moses. "You are going to do this! You can get your brother Aaron to go with you. He is a very good speaker. I will be with both of you and will teach him what to say for you. Now go and don’t forget your staff so that you can do those signs!”
 Moses FINALLY did as God said.

Does God ever talk to you?  Yes! He speaks to us through His Word. (The Bible)  God tells us in the Bible how much He loves us. He also says that if we love Him, we will do what he says. It is no use trying to come up with excuses as to why we can’t do as He asks, because God made us. He made our minds and our hearts. He would never ask us to do anything that we can’t do, especially with Him helping us. When we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior, the Holy Spirit comes to live inside us to help us, encourage us and teach us. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God.

Moses and the (non)Burning Bush (Exodus 3)

 Welcome back friends! Last time we found out that Moses got married to one of the women he helped in the desert when some mean shepherds wouldn’t let her and her sisters feed their sheep. After he got married, Moses’ father-in-law gave him a job taking care of all his sheep. Moses would take the sheep on a four mile walk to the other side of the mountain to eat. While the sheep were grazing, Moses looked over and saw a bush that was on fire. He saw the large flame, but the bush was not burning!
 “That’s strange.” He thought to himself as he walked toward it.
 “Moses!” a voice came from inside the bush.
“This bush can talk, and it knows my name. This is really weird!” He said to himself as he got even closer.

 “ I am the God of Abraham and Jacob. Come closer, but take off your sandals. This is Holy ground.”
Moses did as God said and God continued. “I have heard the cries and prayers of the Hebrews. I am going to rescue them from the slavery of the Egyptians. Go tell the king of Egypt to let the Hebrews go.
 Moses got a little nervous. “Who am I that I can just walk into the king and tell him what to do?”
 God answered. “I will be with you. The king will refuse at first, but with my power and might, I will convince him to let you go, and to top it all off, I will have the Egyptian women give you their jewelry, silver and gold before you leave.”


Moses was a little more confident now, but he still had some questions. “Why would the Hebrew people even believe that you talked to me.  What do I say? What is your name? Who do I talk to first?”
“Relax Moses.” Said God. “I am the God of all your ancestors. Just go to the Hebrew church leaders and tell them that I spoke to you through a burning bush. They will believe you. Tell the people that my name is I Am, because I always was and always will be.

 What would you do if you saw a burning bush and it talked to you? I’d be a little scared myself!
When God spoke, Moses knew it was God right away. When we think that God is speaking to us, we can be sure by going to His word (the bible) and seeing if it agrees with what we heard. God never contradicts Himself.
God told Moses. “I will rescue the Hebrews.” He didn’t say, “Moses, you will rescue the Hebrews.” When we obey what God tells us, He does great things through us. What a privilege!
Moses questiones God. It’s OK for us to question God, but we must remember that God sees all thing.(even the future)He knows what is best all the time.
So relax, obey God and leave the rest up to Him.

Here is a coloring page for you! Ask your guardian to print it out for you. I had a lot of fun coloring the bush!

Moses gets out of Egypt in a hurry! (Exodus 2)

 Last time we saw that Moses was pulled from the Nile River by the king’s daughter.  He was 3 months old. He was raised like the king's son. Moses had the best of eveyrhing, but he was sad for the Hebrews.
When Moses grew up, he went out to visit his people, the Hebrews. He saw how they were forced to do hard labor. He even saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his own people.  Moses looked all around, and when he saw that no one was looking, he killed the Egyptian and hid his body in the sand. 

The next day he went back and saw two Hebrew men fighting. He said to the one who was in the wrong, "Why are you beating up a fellow Hebrew?” The man answered, "Who made you our ruler and judge? Are you going to kill me just as you killed that Egyptian?" Then Moses was afraid and said to himself, "Oh No! People know what I have done. When the king finds out, he'll have me killed!" Moses was right. When the king heard about what had happened, he sent orders to have Moses arrested and killed, but Moses got out of Egypt quickly and went to live far away, in a land called Midian. 

One day, when Moses was sitting by a well, seven daughters of Jethro, the priest of Midian, came to get water for their father's sheep and goats.  But some shepherds drove Jethro's daughters away. Then Moses went to their rescue. He chased the bad shepherds away and got some water for their animals. When they returned to their father, he asked, "Why have you come back so early today?”                                                                                    

"An Egyptian (they thought Moses was an Egyptian) rescued us from the bad shepherds," they answered, "and he even got water for us and watered our animals." "Where is he?" he asked his daughters. "Why did you leave him out there in the desert? Go and invite him to eat with us."  So Moses came to dinner. He must have liked the cooking, because he decided to live there. Moses ended up marrying one of Jethro's daughters. Her name was Zipphorah which means "bird”.  



 Years later the king of Egypt died, but the Israelites were still slaves and still groaning. They cried out to God for help. God heard their cries and prayers. He remembered the promise that He had made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.  He saw how badly they were treated. God had already planned on using Moses to fufill His promise....but not until the timing was right.


 Sometimes we keep asking God over and over for something good. God has already planned on answering our prayers, but He makes us wait for a couple of reasons.
1: God wants us to keep asking. The more we come to Him, the better we get to know Him. God does not want to be our magic genie... he wants a relationship with each of us.
2: God wants us to learn patience. Waiting for something makes us a better person.
3: God has perfect timing. Sometimes if we get what we want right now, it may not be as good as if we get it later. Would you rather get an egg, some flour and oil now....or a cookie later?  I'd rather wait for the ingredients to be mixed and baked. See waiting on God is good!

Moses found and reunited (Exodus 2)

 When we left off last time, Moses was just 3 months old. By the king’s order, his mother was supposed to throw him into the Nile river when he was born, but she hid him for three months. Finally, she could hide him no more and decided to make a floating basket for him. She wrapped him in a blanket and placed him in the river. That must have been so hard for her. I’m sure she was crying. Miriam was Moses’ sister. She must have been sad when her little brother was floating away down the river.


 Do you have a little brother or sister? I know that you can understand how sad and afraid for Moses she was. She began running along the river, watching the basket that carried Moses. It got caught in some weeds. Miriam stayed and watched. Then she saw someone coming down to the river. It was the king’s daughter and her servants. The king’s daughter waded into the water. The servant girls waited on shore with towels to dry herr when she was done swimming.
 "What is that in the weeds?” The king’s daughter asked. “Go get it and bring it to me.” She commanded one of her servants.

 The servant girl reached into the water and pulled out the basket. The baby was covered and quiet. When she brought the basket to the king’s daughter, she pulled back the blanket.


 "Why it’s a baby!” Exclaimed the king’s daughter. “ I can see that he is very special.” She said smiling. Just then, the baby began to cry.  “This must be one of the slave women’s babies.” The king’s daughter said as she picked the baby up and patted him to get him to stop crying. “I think I will keep him and raise him as my own son.” She told her servants.
 Miriam saw the whole thing from her hiding place along the river. She was trying to get up enough courage to come out of her hiding place and speak to the king’s daughter. Miriam thought about how sad her mother was and it gave her a burst of courage. She emerged from the weeds and approached the king’s daughter.
  “Would you like me to get one of the slave women to nurse the baby for you? Miriam asked.
  “Yes, that’s a wonderful idea!” The king’s daughter replied.

  Miraim ran as fast as she could to get her mother. When she finally reached her mother, Miriam told her all about how the King’s daughter wanted to raise the baby, and that she needed someone to care for the baby. She grabbed Moses’ mother’s hand and they both ran back to the king’s daughter.


 “Please care for this baby.” The king’s daughter said to Moses’ mother. "I will pay you for your time as well.” She added. Miriam and her mother took the baby and thanked God as they turned to go home.
  "Oh one more thing,” the king’s daughter added. “His name is Moses because I pulled him out of the water.”
 In Egyptian, moses means to pull out.
 So Moses’ mother not only got her baby back, but the king’s daughter paid her to take care of him! God is so amazing!
 We can read the story of Moses and think to ourselves, “Wow! He was so lucky! But God had a plan for Moses. Everything that happened was part of God’s plan. We will see more of God’s plan unfold as we follow the life of Moses.
 Did you ever think to yourself. “ That was a lucky break", or, “ what a coincidence.” God is in control of all things. There isn’t any luck or coincidence involved. God is working his plan in your life, just as he did in Moses’ life. Isn’t it exciting just wondering what God has in store for us!

The Birth of MOSES (Exodus 1-2)

 We just finished the story of Joseph, and even though he lived hundreds of years before Moses, the stories are connected. Joseph brought all of his relatives over to Egypt because it was the only place that had food. The king at the time loved Joseph because of all that he had done for him and for Egypt and he didn’t mind all the Israelites living in Egypt. The Israelites had many children. Their children had many children. Many years after Joseph had died, a new king forgot all about Joseph and how he helped Egypt. He was just worried that there were too many Israelites, and that they might start a war and take over Egypt. So he  used his army and forced the Israelites become slaves to the Egyptians. The king wanted to build a huge city, so he used the Israelite slaves to make bricks out of hay and mud. The Israelites were not treated very well.

 The Israelites kept having children and the king was getting more nervous than ever. He told the Egyptian nurses to kill the baby boys as soon as they were born.  Months and months later, the king noticed that there were still many Israelite boys being born so he called the Egyptian nurses before him. “Didn’t I order you to kill all the slave boys right after they were born? Then why am I seeing all these little slave boys everywhere?” He scowled.

 “Yes my king, we tried to follow your orders, but the Israelite women have babies so fast, that the babies are born and already in their mother’s arms by the time we arrive.” Said one of the nurses.

The nurses knew that it was wrong to kill the babies, so they purposely took their time getting to the Israelite women when they were having their babies.  God was pleased with the nurses and blessed them with many children of their own.


The king was getting angry.  He made it a law, that all slave boys, born from this day forward, must be thrown in the Nile river! The baby boys would drown if the crocodiles didn’t eat them first. The Israelites hated being slaves and they hated the kings laws. They prayed that God would free them.

An Israelite woman had a baby boy. Her and her husband hid the baby for three months. When they knew that they could hide him no longer, they mad a difficult decision. The baby’s mother made a basket out of papyrus (which they used to write on. It’s where we get the word paper) and his father coated it with tar so it wouldn’t sink.








They wrapped the baby in a blanket, placed him in the basket, set him in the Nile river and prayed. The baby’s older sister, Miriam, ran along the banks of the nile and watched as the current carried the basket with the baby further and further from his family. Wow! That must have been so hard for the family!  The baby didn’t have a name yet, but we know him as Moses. Next time we’ll find out if the crocs got him! What do you think?