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Then God said to Moses,
"Tell Pharaoh, if he will not let the people go, I will to-morrow
send a grievous murrain upon all his cattle: upon the horses, and
asses, and camels, and oxen, and sheep." And the Lord did so on
the morrow; and all the cattle of the Egyptians died, but not one that
belonged to the Israelites; and Pharaoh's heart was hardened still.
Then Moses took ashes out of the furnace, and threw them up towards
Heaven, at God's command, and they became dust, and brought sore boils,
upon men and beasts. The wicked Egyptian magicians suffered from the
boils, and could not stand before Pharaoh. But still the king would
not attend to God's command. The
next day, God sent very heavy hail, which broke the trees to pieces, and
destroyed all the plants in the field; and the thunder roared in the sky,
and the lightning ran along the ground. Pharaoh was very much
frightened now; and he sent for Moses and Aaron, and cried, "I have
sinned; God is righteous, and I am wicked: intreat God to take away
the thunder, and lightning, and hail, and I will let you go."
Then Moses went out, and cried to God: and the Lord heard, and took
away the fearful storm. What wonderful power God has! He can
send storms, and take them away when He pleases; He can kill us with the
lightning, or keep us safely. He can take care of us, as He took
care of the Israelites in Egypt. But
when the rain was over, Pharaoh was again disobedient, and said, "I
will not let the people go." Then God sent locusts, very, very
many, to eat all the green things in the land. We have no such
locusts here; but in eastern countries they are very common; and they come
in great numbers, and eat the trees, and the fruit, and all they can
find. The locusts God sent to punish Egypt, were very large; and
there were so many that the land was darkened by them, and they ate every
thing which the hail had not destroyed. The king again sent for
Moses and Aaron, and begged them to pray for him. And they did pray,
and God heard them; but when the plague was taken away, wicked Pharaoh
again said, "I will not let you go." Then God sent a new
and very dreadful plague over the land of Egypt; this was thick darkness;
there was not light from the sun, nor moon, nor stars, for three days; and
the people could not see to move from their places all that time. It
was not common darkness; but a wonderful and fearful darkness sent by God,
"a darkness that might be felt." Were
the Israelites in darkness too? No, they had light. God knew
who believed in Him, and who did not; and He did not punish His own
people. He could make the sun shine brightly upon them, when it was
black night with the Egyptians. Pharaoh again called Moses, and
said, "You must go; only let your cattle be stayed." But
Moses said, "No, we must take all our possessions with us; we will go
with our wives, and our little children, our sons, and our daughters, our
flocks, and all we have." Then Pharaoh was angry, and drove
Moses away, and told him never to come before him again. Moses said,
"Thou hast spoken well; I will see thy face again no more;" and
he went away from the king. The
darkness ended in three days; and then God said, "I will send one
more plague upon Pharaoh, and afterwards he will let the people go.
I will smite all the first-born in the land of Egypt." And did
God kill the first-born of the Israelites too? No; He told them what
they must do, if they believed his words, and wished to escape. They
were to take a lamb, a lamb without spot or blemish, and to kill it in the
evening, and sprinkle the blood upon the lintel, and upon the two
door-posts; then they were to roast the lamb, and eat it. In
the night, God sent an angel from Heaven to smite the first-born of the
wicked Egyptians; the eldest child in every house was killed, and all the
first-born of cattle. But were the believing, obedient people
safe? Yes, the Lord saw the blood upon the doors, and passed over
the houses, and did not slay the firstborn in them. All those who
obeyed God, and sprinkled the lamb's blood upon the posts, were safe. The
Lord Jesus Christ is like the lamb of the Israelites. He is the
"Lamb of God," holy and pure; "without blemish and without
spot." 1 Peter 1:19. He was slain as the paschal
lamb was, and His blood was shed upon the cross. Why? To save
our souls. The lamb of the Israelites saved their bodies from
death. The Lamb of God saves our souls from hell. The blood of
the lamb in Egypt was sprinkled upon the doors; the blood of Jesus must be
sprinkled upon our hearts. The destroying angel saw the blood, and
passed over the houses; and when God sees the blood of Jesus upon us, He
forgives, and saves us from hell.
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