Moses and The Ten Plagues of Egypt

 

Hi, kids! Last time, I told you about the story of the Burning Bush where Moses met God. God called Moses and commanded him to go back to Egypt to help Israel be free from slavery.

So Moses and Aaron went to the Pharaoh to ask for Israel's freedom. First, they have to prove to Pharaoh that they were sent by God. And so Aaron turned Moses' staff into a snake.

But Pharaoh called his magicians and they did the same, Then everyone was surprised to see that Aaron’s snake ate up all the magicians’ snakes. Yet, Pharaoh did not listen but hardened his heart. He made it harder for the Israelite slaves to work because the Egyptians asked them to make bricks without providing the materials.

Because Pharaoh was stubborn and did not want to let the Israelites go free, God sent different plagues to Egypt. Do you know what is a plague? Plague is a disaster or a calamity. Let's see what plagues God sent to Egypt.

First Plague

The next morning, God told Moses and Aaron to wait for Pharaoh by the Nile River. When they saw him, Aaron said to Pharaoh to let God's people go. Pharaoh refused.

So, Aaron hit the Nile River with his staff and all the waters of Egypt turned into blood! All the fish in the river died, and it smelled so bad. Still, Pharaoh did not set Israel free.

Second Plague

Moses went to Pharaoh again and told him to let the Israelites go. But Pharaoh refused. When Aaron stretched out his staff over the waters, frogs came out and scattered all of Egypt. 

Pharaoh pleaded to Moses to make the frogs go away, then he will let Israel go and sacrifice to God. Moses prayed to God and all the frogs died. 

But when Pharaoh saw that Egypt has recovered, he didn’t do what he said.

Third Plague

Again God said to Moses to tell Aaron to stretch out his staff and strike the dust of the earth. Then, it became gnats and filled all of Egypt. 

Even if the magicians cannot do the same thing and told Pharaoh that it was God's doing, yet, Pharaoh refused to free Israel.

Fourth Plague

God said to Moses to go to Pharaoh again to tell the Pharaoh that if he does not let the Israelites go, God will plague Egypt with flies. Pharaoh refused and God did what He said. There were flies everywhere, except on the land of Goshen, where the Israelites live. 

The following day, Pharaoh told Moses and Aaron that they could go and sacrifice to their God. After Moses prayed to God to make the flies go away, the Pharaoh did not let Israel go.

Fifth Plague

Then God told Moses to tell Pharaoh to let Israel go. If not, God will kill all their livestock, but not Israel’s. Pharaoh refused and God did as He said. All the sheep, cattle, goat of Egypt died. But the livestock belonging to Israel did not die. Still, Pharaoh did not let Israel go.

Sixth Plague

Then God told Moses to take the ash from a kiln and throw it upwards before Pharaoh, if he still doesn't let Israel go. 

The ash turned into a fine dust that spread all over Egypt. All the men of Egypt including the magicians, the animals were plagued with boils all over their bodies. However, Pharaoh did not let Israel go.

Seventh Plague

Then God told Moses to tell Pharaoh to let the Israelites go, so they may serve God. If not, God will send plagues on the Egyptians. Find shelter for yourselves and your livestock because tomorrow will rain hail like never before. 

Some of Pharaoh’s servants who feared the Lord took their servants and livestock to safety. But those who didn’t did not do anything. 

The time came that the Lord told Moses to stretch out his hand to the air, it rained hail all over Egypt, except on Goshen. The hail fell on every man, animal and plants.

Eighth Plague

Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron and said, “I have sinned. Plead with the Lord to stop the hail, and then I will let you go.” So Moses prayed to God and the hail stopped. But Pharaoh hardened his heart and did not let Israel go.

Again, Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said, “The Lord says, ‘How long will you refuse to humble before me? Let my people go. If not, tomorrow, I will plague Egypt with locusts that will cover the land.”

Pharaoh agreed to let Israel go and serve God. But Moses said that everyone and their flocks and herds will go. But Pharaoh did not want that.

So the next day, a swarm of locusts came. It ate everything -- plants and fruits. And so Pharaoh immediately called Moses. He asked for forgiveness. Moses prayed to God and the all the locusts went away. But again Pharaoh refused to free Israel.

Ninth Plague

Then God told Moses to cast a plague of darkness over the land of Egypt. The Egyptians did not see one another, so they stayed where they are for three days. 

But the Israelites in Goshen have light. So, Pharaoh agreed to let the Israelites go and serve the Lord. But because Moses wanted to take their flocks, Pharaoh did not set Israel free. He even said that he will kill Moses.

Tenth Plague

Then God said to Moses that with this last plague, Pharaoh will finally set Israel free. God instructed Moses to prepare for the Passover. By midnight, the angel of death will go around Egypt. Every firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die. All of Egypt will cry. But not Israel, God's people. 

When midnight came, all firstborn in the land of Egypt died, including Pharaoh’s firstborn down to the firstborn of slaves and animals. There was a great cry in Egypt. 

But no one died in Israel’s houses. Because the blood of the lamb marked their door posts, the angel of the Lord passed over them. 

After this, Pharaoh called Moses and Aaron. He said, Get out of Egypt! Bring all your people, flocks and herds.

It took ten plagues to happen in Egypt before the Pharaoh finally let go of Israel. But did the Pharaoh really let Israel go that easily? We’ll find out in the next story!

Image credit: The images above can be downloaded from freeBibleimages.com or BiblePathwayAdventures.com. You can use them for your Sunday School class. You can also let the children watch the YouTube video embedded above.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

So, let’s try to remember what happened in the story.
1. What are Moses and Aaron doing in Egypt before Pharaoh? (God sent them to free the Israelites from slavery and Egypt)

2. What happened because Pharaoh did not want to let the Israelites go? (God sent plagues to Egypt)
2. Can you remember the order of how the plagues happened? 
3. Was there a safe place in Egypt while God send the plagues in Egypt? (Goshen)
4. Why did God leave it safe from harm? (Because God's people are there and He protected them)
5. What lesson can you learn from this story? about Pharaoh? about Moses? about God?

MEMORY VERSE: Exodus 20:2

I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

KIDS ACTIVITIES:

1. Coloring Pages and Activity Pages

Here is a free resource from Teachers Pay Teachers that includes activity and coloring pages related to the story of Moses and the Ten Plagues.  You can let the children do these pages after telling the story to them. 

2. Re-telling the Story

After the kids color illustrations for the ten plagues that happened in Egypt (you can print the Ten Plagues coloring page in the free resource linked above), let the children cut out each picture. 

Then, glue a popsicle stick to each cut out picture. 

Let the children choose one picture and arrange themselves according to the time the picture they are holding happened. 

Let each child tell the story behind the picture he or she is holding. 

3. Games

Check out this page to let the children play some games related to the lesson today like Plague dominoes and Dodge the Plague.

You can find more Activity Ideas for this lesson on this Pinterest Board: