Jo’s Place

​ A Plague of Locusts Then the Lord said to Moses, “Return to Pharaoh and make your demands again.  I have made him and his officials stubborn so I can display my miraculous signs among them.  I’ve also done it so you can tell your children and grandchildren about how I made a mockery of the Egyptians and about the signs I displayed among them—and so you will know that I am the Lord.”  So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said,  “This is what the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, says:  How long will you refuse to submit to me?  Let my people go, so they can worship me.  If you refuse, watch out!  For tomorrow I will bring a swarm of locusts on your country.  They will cover the land so that you won’t be able to see the ground.  They will devour what little is left of your crops after the hailstorm, including all the trees growing in the fields.  They will overrun your palaces and the homes of your officials and all the houses in Egypt.  Never in the history of Egypt have your ancestors

​ A Plague against Livestock “Go back to Pharaoh,” the Lord commanded Moses.  “Tell him, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, says:  Let My people go, so they can worship Me.  If you continue to hold them and refuse to let them go, the hand of the Lord will strike all your livestock—your horses, donkeys, camels, cattle, sheep, and goats—with a deadly plague.  But the Lord will again make a distinction between the livestock of the Israelites and that of the Egyptians.  Not a single one of Israel’s animals will die!  The Lord has already set the time for the plague to begin. He has declared that he will strike the land tomorrow.’ ”  And the Lord did just as he had said. The next morning all the livestock of the Egyptians died, but the Israelites didn’t lose a single animal.  Pharaoh sent his officials to investigate, and they discovered that the Israelites had not lost a single animal!  But even so, Pharaoh’s heart remained stubborn, and he still refused to let the people go. 

​ The Plagues of Gnats and Flies (Because Pharaoh’s heart was still hard) the Lord said to Moses,  “Tell Aaron,  ‘Raise your staff and strike the ground.  The dust will turn into swarms of gnats throughout the land of Egypt.’ ”  So Moses and Aaron did just as the Lord had commanded them.  When Aaron raised his hand and struck the ground with his staff, gnats infested the entire land, covering the Egyptians and their animals.  All the dust in the land of Egypt turned into gnats.  Pharaoh’s magicians tried to do the same thing with their secret arts, but this time they failed.  And the gnats covered everything, people and animals alike.  “This is the finger of God!” the magicians exclaimed to Pharaoh.  But Pharaoh’s heart remained hard.  He wouldn’t listen to them, just as the Lord had predicted.    Then the Lord told Moses, “Get up early in the morning and stand in Pharaoh’s way as he goes down to the river.  Say to him, ‘This is what the Lord (our God) says: Let My people go, so they c

​ 305 - A Plague of Frogs Then the Lord said to Moses,  “Go back to Pharaoh and announce to him…  ‘This is what the Lord says:  Let My people go, so they can worship Me.  If you refuse to let them go, I will send a plague of frogs across your entire land.  The Nile River will swarm with frogs.  They will come up out of the river and into your palace, even into your bedroom and onto your bed!  They will enter the houses of your officials and your people.  They will even jump into your ovens and your kneading bowls.  Frogs will jump on you, your people, and all your officials.’ ”  Then the Lord said to Moses,  “Tell Aaron… ‘Raise the staff in your hand over all the rivers, canals, and ponds of Egypt, and bring up frogs over all the land.’ ”  So Aaron raised his hand over the waters of Egypt, and frogs came up and covered the whole land!  But the magicians were able to do the same thing with their magic.  They, too, caused frogs to come up on the land of Egypt.  (But) Pharaoh summoned Mos

A Plague of Blood (The First of Ten Plagues)   Then the Lord said to Moses, “Pharaoh’s heart is stubborn, and he still refuses to let the people go.  So go to Pharaoh in the morning as he goes down to the river.  Stand on the bank of the Nile and meet him there.  Be sure to take along the staff that turned into a snake.  Then announce to him,  ‘The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has sent me to tell you,  “Let my people go, so they can worship me in the wilderness.”  Until now, you have refused to listen to Him.  So this is what the Lord says:  “I will show you that I am the Lord.”  Look! …I will strike the water of the Nile with this staff in my hand, and the river will turn to blood.  The fish in it will die, and the river will stink.  The Egyptians will not be able to drink any water from the Nile.’ ”  Then the Lord said to Moses:  “Tell Aaron, ‘Take your staff and raise your hand over the waters of Egypt—all its rivers, canals, ponds, and all the reservoirs.  Turn all the water to bl

​ Aaron’s Staff Becomes a Serpent Then the Lord said to Moses,  “Pay close attention to (what I’m telling you)..  I will make you seem like God to Pharaoh, and your brother, Aaron, will be your prophet.  Tell Aaron everything I command you, and Aaron must command Pharaoh to let the people of Israel leave his country.  But I will make Pharaoh’s heart stubborn so I can multiply my miraculous signs and wonders in the land of Egypt.  Even then Pharaoh will refuse to listen to you.  So I will bring down my fist on Egypt.  Then I will rescue my forces—my people, the Israelites—from the land of Egypt with great acts of judgment.  When I raise my powerful hand and bring out the Israelites, the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord.”  So Moses and Aaron did just as the Lord had commanded them.  Moses was eighty years old, and Aaron was eighty-three when they made their demands to Pharaoh.  Then the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Pharaoh will demand, ‘Show me a miracle.’  When he does this, say

The Ancestors of Moses and Aaron These are the ancestors of some of the clans of Israel:  The sons of Reuben, Israel’s oldest son, were Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi.  Their descendants became the clans of Reuben.  The sons of Simeon were Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jakin, Zohar, and Shaul. (Shaul’s mother was a Canaanite woman.)  Their descendants became the clans of Simeon.  These are the descendants of Levi, as listed in their family records:  The sons of Levi were Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. (Levi lived to be 137 years old.)  The descendants of Gershon included Libni and Shimei, each of whom became the ancestor of a clan.  The descendants of Kohath included Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. (Kohath lived to be 133 years old.)  The descendants of Merari included Mahli and Mushi.  These are the clans of the Levites, as listed in their family records.  Amram married his father’s sister Jochebed, and she gave birth to his sons, Aaron and Moses. (Amram lived to be 137 years old.)  The sons

​ Promises of Deliverance The Lord told Moses,  “Now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh ...w hen he feels the force of My strong hand, he will let the people go. In fact, he will force them to leave his land!”  And God said to Moses,  “I am Yahweh—‘the Lord.’  I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob as El-Shaddai —  ‘God Almighty’— but I did not reveal My Name, Yahweh, to them.  (So) I reaffirmed (to you) My covenant with them.  Under its terms, I promised to give them the land of Canaan, where they were living as foreigners.  You can be sure that I have heard the groans of the people of Israel, who are now slaves to the Egyptians.  And I am well aware of My covenant with them.  “Therefore, say to the people of Israel:  ‘I am the Lord. I will free you from your oppression and will rescue you from your slavery in Egypt.  I will redeem you with a powerful arm and great acts of judgment.  I will claim you as My own people, and I will be your God.  Then you will know that I Am th

Moses and Aaron Speak to Pharaoh After their presentation to Israel’s leaders, Moses and Aaron went and spoke to Pharaoh.  They told him, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says:  Let my people go …so they may hold a festival in my honor in the wilderness.”  “Is that so?” retorted Pharaoh.  “And who is the Lord?  Why should I listen to him and let Israel go?  I don’t know this ‘Lord’,  …and I will not let Israel go.”  But Aaron and Moses persisted.  “The God of the Hebrews has met with us,” they declared.  “So let us take a three-day journey into the wilderness so we can offer sacrifices to the Lord our God.  If we don’t, He will kill us with a plague or with the sword.”  Pharaoh replied, “Moses and Aaron, why are you distracting the people from their tasks?  Get back to work! Look, there are many of your people in the land, and you are stopping them from their work.”  That same day Pharaoh sent this order to the Egyptian slave drivers and the Israelite foremen:  “Do not supply