The children of Israel had dwelt in the Land of Egypt for 430 years (Exodus 12:40-41) before Pharaoh let them leave. But not until the Lord sent 10 Plagues upon them.
Exodus 5:1-2 And afterward Moses and Aaron went in, and told Pharaoh, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Let my people go, that they may hold a feast unto me in the wilderness. And Pharaoh said, Who is the LORD, that I should obey his voice to let Israel go? I know not the LORD, neither will I let Israel go.
The plagues are:
| 1) Water turning to blood | ⮞ read Plague #1 |
| 2) Frogs | ⮞ read Plague #2 |
| 3) Lice | ⮞ read Plague #3 |
| 4) Flies | ⮞ read Plague #4 |
| 5) Livestock pestilence | ⮞ read Plague #5 |
| 6) Boils | ⮞ read Plague #6 |
| 7) Hail | ⮞ read Plague #7 |
| 8) Locusts | ⮞ read Plague #8 |
| 9) Darkness | ⮞ read Plague #9 |
| 10) The killing of firstborn children | ⮞ read Plague #10 |
The Passover Sacrifice
On the first day of the month of Nissan, two weeks before the Exodus from Egypt, God said to Moses and Aaron: “This month shall be to you the head of the months; to you it shall be the first of the months of the year. Speak to the entire community of Israel, saying (Exodus 12:2-31), On the tenth of this month, let each one take a lamb for each parental home, a lamb for each household.”
On the tenth of this month, let each one take a lamb… a lamb for each household… . a lamb for a household . . . And you shall keep it for inspection until the fourteenth day of this month… And this is how you shall eat it: your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and you shall eat it in haste it is a Passover sacrifice to the Lord… And I will see the blood and skip over you, and there will be no plague to destroy [you] when I smite the [people of the] land of Egypt. And this day shall be for you as a memorial, and you shall celebrate it as a festival for the Lord; throughout your generations, you shall celebrate it as an everlasting statute. For seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, but on the preceding day you shall clear away all leaven from your houses… And it will come to pass if your children say to you, “What is this service to you? You shall say, It is a Passover sacrifice to the Lord, for He passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt when He smote the Egyptians, and He saved our houses!”
Moses told all this to the children of Israel. It required a great deal of faith and courage for the children of Israel to carry out this Command, for the lamb was a sacred animal to the ancient Egyptians. But the children of Israel eagerly and fearlessly carried out all that God had ordered.
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