The Ten Plagues

OBJECTIVE

The objective of this lesson is to show how God used Moses to free His people from bondage with a mighty hand and a miraculous way. This showed the Egyptians and all the neighboring countries who is the true God and their gods are not the ones to worship.

INTRODUCTION & HOOK - 10 Minutes

Open the lesson by asking the children about last week lesson and then ask the following questions:

• Have you been to Egypt? Raise your hand if you did? Have you gone to the museum over there, or have seen any of their statues at the time of the Pharaohs?
• The Egyptians at the time of the Pharaohs used to have many gods. A god for the river Nile and life, a god for protection, they used to worship the son as a god also. They used to worship animals like the cow and many others.
• Show the children the pictures of these gods.
• Today we will see how God used Moses to free His people from the bondage of the Egyptians as it is written in the book of Exodus.

HOLY SCRIPTURE - 5 Minutes

Memory Verse: "Therefore, do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is" Ephesians 5:17

Reference: Exodus 4-12

CONTENT (KEY POINTS) - 15 Minutes

• Last week we learned about God speaking to Moses from the burning bush and telling him to go to Pharaoh and tell him to free His people.
• Moses continued asking God many questions about how he can do that and why should Pharaoh listen to him.
• God gave Moses a complete plan of what he will do. First, He told Moses to go to the elders of the Israelites and tell them that God heard their cries and prayers to be freed from captivity. He will free them from the bondage of slavery and bring them to a good land where you can live free and pray to God. You will tell them that God appointed you to go to Pharaoh and ask him to release you for three days to pray for me. I know Pharaoh will not obey and I will strike the land of Egypt with all kinds of wonder there and then he will release my people.
• Moses asked God for help in order for Pharaoh to believe him, and God gave Him miraculous powers to help him convince Pharaoh. Moses also told God he needed help in presenting the case to Pharaoh as he was not great on talking. God told him to take Aaron (Moses' older brother) and he will be speaking for you.
• Moses & Aaron went to Egypt and met with the elders of the Israelites and told them what God will do to free them. Moses showed some of the signs God gave him to let them believe. He turned his cane into a snake and turned back into a cane, and he put his hand in his robe and turned as a leper (a sick man with spots over their body) and put it back again and his hand was healed. The elders were very happy to know God listened to their cries.
• The next day, Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and told him the God of the Hebrews is telling you to let my people for a 3-day journey to worship me. Pharaoh told Moses and Aaron "I don't know your God and I am not releasing these workers to take a break". Then Pharaoh ordered the masters incharge of the Hebrews' work and told him from now on, don't give them any straw to make the bricks from, let them provide it and they are required to produce the same amounts of bricks everyday as before.
• You see, the Israelites used to make bricks for Pharaoh to build the palaces and other buildings with it. They used mud and straws, mixed it together, the masters used to provide the mud and the straws. Now the Israelites have to provide it.
• The Israelites were very upset with Moses and Aaron because they made them work harder instead of freeing them. God told Moses and Aaron and told Pharaoh about the first strike He will make on Egypt. If you do not let my people go I will make the River Nile become blood. Pharaoh did not listen, and the water became blood and the Egyptians were not able to drink or cook or give water to their cattle. Pharaoh asked Moses and Aaron to return the river blood into water. The same thing was repeated 9 times, and every time Moses would go to Pharaoh and tell him a plague would happen to Egypt if he didnt let the Isrealites go. Every time, Pharaoh's heart was hardened (or is stubborn), the plague happened and then Pharaoh asked Moses to lift it, but once the plague is gone, Pharoah becomes stubborn again.
• These 9 plagues were the frogs, lice, flies, livestock (cattle) disease, soars (boils) for the Egyptians and their animals, hail, and locusts. You should know these plagues happened to the Egyptians while the Hebrews were living in a separate city and none of these plagues affected them. Also, the last 2 plagues completely destroyed Egypt, the hail came when it was time for harvesting so most of the crops were ruined, and then came the locusts and they ate the remaining crops.
• Everyone in Egypt, the people who served Pharaoh, and his ministers knew by now there is only one true God, the God of the Hebrews, and their other gods were powerless. All except for Pharaoh, who was not completely convinced.
• The tenth and final plague was the death of the first born. You know this time Moses told Pharaoh this is the last one and after that you will release my people.
• God asked Moses to tell the Israelites to get ready to leave, gather all your belongings and have a lamb (without blemish) prepared for dinner and take the blood of the lamb and paint it on the doorpost and the sides of their houses and He will pass at night through the land of Egypt and take the all first born for man and animals.
• When daytime came, all firstborn in Egypt, including Pharaoh's own son, died. Finally, Pharaoh agreed to release the Hebrew people. Moses and Aaron took all of God's chosen people and started their journey to the promised land.

DISCUSSION (Challenge) - 7 Minutes

1. What book number is Exodus? Is it in the New or the Old Testament?
2. What did God ask Moses to do when He talked to him at the burning bush? Why?
3. Why do you think God made all these plagues to the Egyptians? Is it just to free His people from bondage or is there another reason?
4. How did the Egyptian gods look after all the plagues were done in Egypt? Why didn't they do anything to help the Egyptians? Did the Egyptians understand who is the true God?
5. What did God ask Moses for the Hebrew people to do on the night when He will take the life of the firstborn?
6. What do you think about the blood they painted the posts with? And what does it represent?

LIFE APPLICATION - 5 Minutes

God desires to communicate with us all the time. Sometimes however we are just too busy to listen to God. Perhaps we feel God has more important things to do than talk to us. But that cannot be further from the truth. God loves us very much and wants to tell us many things. That's why we need to take time to pray, and hear what God has to say. Let's pray now, and ask God to help us to listen to Him. 

ACTIVITY - 10 Minutes

Using the attached images of posts below, representing the doors of the Hebrew people on Passover, ask the children to make something similar and painted with red color (for the blood).

SERVANT RESOURCES

• Refer to the Old Testament Timeline attached for major events and chronological order through the Bible.
• Old Testament Books Song - Missing Deuterocanonical books (Tobit and Judith from history books, Wisdom and Sirach from poetic books, Baruch, 1&2 Maccabees from prophetic books, and the Prayer of Manasseh)

PARENTS CORNER/HOMEWORK

The children learned about the 10 plagues done by God in Egypt and how they left in a miraculous way. Please take the time to review the plagues with them during this week.

LESSON ATTACHMENTS