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The Ten Plagues of Egypt
This chapter is based on Exodus 5 to 10.
Instructed by angels, Aaron went to meet his brother in the
loneliness of the desert near Horeb. Here Moses told Aaron “all the
words of the Lord who had sent him, and all the signs which He had
commanded him” (
Exodus 4:28
). Together they journeyed to Egypt
to gather together the elders of Israel. “The people believed; and
when they heard that the Lord had visited the children of Israel and
that He had looked on their affliction, then they bowed their heads
and worshiped” (
Exodus 4:31
).
With a message for the king, the two brothers entered the palace
of the Pharaohs as ambassadors from the King of kings: “Thus says
the Lord, God of Israel: ‘Let My people go, that they may hold a
feast to Me in the wilderness.’”
“Who is the Lord, that I should obey His voice to let Israel go?”
demanded the monarch; “I do not know the Lord, neither will I let
Israel go.”
Their answer was, “The God of the Hebrews has met with us.
Please let us go three days’ journey into the desert and sacrifice to
the Lord our God, lest He fall upon us with pestilence or with the
sword.”
The king’s anger was kindled. “Moses and Aaron, why do you
take the people from their work?” he said. “Get back to your labor.”
Already the kingdom had suffered loss through the interference of
these strangers. At the thought of this he added, “Look, the people
of the land are many now, and you make them rest from their labor!”
To some extent, during their slavery the Israelites had lost the
knowledge of God’s law, and they had generally disregarded the
Sabbath. The demands of their taskmasters made keeping it seem
impossible, but Moses had shown his people that obedience to God
was the condition of their deliverance. The efforts made to restore
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