Ten Plagues
- stpeterstoronto
- Aug 3
- 5 min read
Updated: Dec 2
Did you know...
that God sent ten plagues against the Pharaoh and Egypt?
This story is about how God showed His power by sending Ten plagues.
Moses had tried to convince the Pharaoh to free the slaves of Israel, but the Pharaoh hadn’t listened. Now God commanded Moses to go and meet the Pharaoh again. When Moses saw him at the river, he called out and said to the Pharaoh again, “The Lord the God of the Hebrews has sent me to say, ‘Let my people go, so they can worship me in the wilderness’.” Moses told the Pharaoh that God would destroy the Nile River, and that the fish will die, the river will stink, and that Egyptians would not be able to drink any water from it.”
As the Pharaoh watched, Aaron pointed Moses' staff towards the waters and it turned to blood and all that Moses had said happened.
But again, the magicians of Egypt used their secret arts and they too turned water into blood, so Pharaoh’s heart remained stubborn and he didn’t listen to Moses.
Plague of Frogs
After about a week, Moses went back to Pharaoh and asked him again to let the people go. When the Pharaoh didn’t, this time God sent a plague of frogs upon the land.
The frogs came out of the river, they came into the houses, even onto the beds! But the magicians were able to do the same thing.
Pharaoh told Moses that if God made the frogs go away, he would let the people go, but when Pharaoh saw that the frogs were gone, he hardened his heart, changed his mind, and again refused to let the people go.
Plague of Gnats
God now sent a plague of gnats. The entire land was covered as were the people and animals.
The magicians were not able to do the same thing and exclaimed to the Pharaoh, “This is the finger of God!”, but Pharaoh’s heart remained hard and stubborn.
Plague of Flies
Moses again asked the Pharaoh to let the slaves go, and when he didn’t, God sent a plague of flies.
Flies swarmed everywhere – in the Pharaoh’s palace and in every home in Egypt, but Pharaoh’s heart remained hardened.
Plague against Livestock
The next plague God sent was against the livestock. While the livestock of all the Israelites were fine, the flocks and herds of the Egyptians began to die – horses, donkeys, camels, cattle, and sheep. The Pharaoh sent an official to see if it was true that none of the Israelites’ animals were dead, and when he found it was true, still he refused to let the people go.
Plague of Boils
Next God had Moses toss some soot from a furnace into the sky. As the Pharaoh watched, it spread like a fine dust all over the land of Egypt and caused boils to break out on people and animals. Pharaoh was still stubborn.
Plague of Hail
God told Moses to go to the Pharaoh and warn him that another plague would be sent if he didn’t let God’s people go so that they could worship Him. Moses told the Pharaoh, “If you don’t, God will send a plague that will really speak to you, your officials, and the Egyptian people. God will prove to you that there is no other God like Him in all the earth. He has let you live so that you could see His power and that His fame would spread throughout the earth. When the Pharaoh didn’t change his mind, Moses lifted his hand toward the sky and God sent a hailstorm like none that had ever been.
There was so much severe hail and continuous lightning that it left all fields and Egypt in ruins. When Pharaoh saw this, he finally admitted his fault. “The Lord is right, and my people and I are wrong.” He begged Moses to ask God to end the terrifying thunder and hail. He would let the people go at once. When God stopped the hail, then once again Pharaoh sinned, and again he stubbornly refused to do as he had promised.
Plague of locusts
God told Moses to again return to the Pharaoh and demand that he let Israelites go. If not, He would cover the country with locusts. To this threat, Pharaoh said he would allow only the men to go to serve the Lord and then he threw Moses and Aaron out of the palace.
Moses now did as God commanded, he raised his staff and the Lord caused an east wind to blow all that day and through the night.
The winds brought locusts that swarmed all over the land of Egypt. There were so many locusts that the country looked black. They ate all the plants and all the fruit on the trees that had survived the hailstorm. The Pharaoh’s heart remained stubborn and again, he did not let the people go.
Plague of Darkness
When God caused a deep and terrifying darkness to descend upon the land of Egypt, the Pharaoh called for Moses and said that the people could go and worship the Lord, but that their flocks and herds must remain. Moses said that the people needed these animals because they needed to make sacrifices to God. So God hardened Pharaoh’s heart once more and he would not let everyone go.
Death for Egypt’s Firstborn
The last plague was the worst of all. God said to Moses that He would send just one more disaster on Pharaoh and the land of Egypt, He would send the plague of death. All the firstborn sons in the land of Egypt would die. The Israelites were to smear lamb’s blood on their doorframes as a sign so that the plague of death would not touch them. And so it happened, all the firstborn of the people and animals died. Even Pharaoh’s firstborn son, died.
Pharaoh now sent for Moses and Aaron and told them that all the Israelites and their flocks and herds should leave.
That night, all the people of Israel left - 600,000 men, plus all the women and children.
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Learning Activity Extensions
Read the story in the Bible: Exodus 7 - 12
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