Moses Confronts Pharaoh

Exodus 4: 29 Moses and Aaron brought together all the elders of the Israelites, 30 and Aaron told them everything the LORD had said to Moses. He also performed the signs before the people, 31 and they believed. And when they heard that the LORD was concerned about them and had seen their misery, they bowed down and worshiped.

• How did the elders of Israel respond when they heard that God was concerned about them?

5: 1 Afterward Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said, "This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: 'Let my people go, so that they may hold a festival to me in the desert.' " 2 Pharaoh said, "Who is the LORD, that I should obey him and let Israel go? I do not know the LORD and I will not let Israel go."

• If God sent Moses, why didn’t Pharaoh let the people go?

6 That same day Pharaoh gave this order to the slave drivers and foremen in charge of the people: 7 "You are no longer to supply the people with straw for making bricks; let them go and gather their own straw. 8 But require them to make the same number of bricks as before; don't reduce the quota. They are lazy; that is why they are crying out, 'Let us go and sacrifice to our God.' "

• Why would God allow things to get worse for Israel before they god better? What should you do if you pray about something and things get worse?

6: 6 "Therefore, say to the Israelites: 'I am the LORD, and I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. I will free you from being slaves to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment. 7 I will take you as my own people, and I will be your God. Then you will know that I am the LORD your God, who brought you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. 8 And I will bring you to the land I swore with uplifted hand to give to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob. I will give it to you as a possession. I am the LORD.' " 9 Moses reported this to the Israelites, but they did not listen to him because of their discouragement and cruel bondage.

• Why did the Israelites listen and believe the first time Moses spoke to them, but refuse to listen now?

7: 10 So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and did just as the LORD commanded. Aaron threw his staff down in front of Pharaoh and his officials, and it became a snake. 11 Pharaoh then summoned wise men and sorcerers, and the Egyptian magicians also did the same things by their secret arts: 12 Each one threw down his staff and it became a snake. But Aaron's staff swallowed up their staffs. 13 Yet Pharaoh's heart became hard and he would not listen to them, just as the LORD had said.

• Why did Pharaoh want to duplicate what Moses and Aaron had done?

17 This is what the LORD says: "By this you will know that I am the LORD : With the staff that is in my hand I will strike the water of the Nile, and it will be changed into blood. 18 The fish in the Nile will die, and the river will stink; the Egyptians will not be able to drink its water. "

• What impact would the plague of blood have on the Egyptians?

22 But the Egyptian magicians did the same things by their secret arts, and Pharaoh's heart became hard; he would not listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the LORD had said. 23 Instead, he turned and went into his palace, and did not take even this to heart.

• This plague would have made a big impact on Egypt. Why would Pharaoh refuse to listen to Moses and Aaron?

8: 1 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Go to Pharaoh and say to him, 'This is what the LORD says: Let my people go, so that they may worship me. 2 If you refuse to let them go, I will plague your whole country with frogs.
7 But the magicians did the same things by their secret arts; they also made frogs come up on the land of Egypt. 8 Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said, "Pray to the LORD to take the frogs away from me and my people, and I will let your people go to offer sacrifices to the LORD." 9 Moses said to Pharaoh, "I leave to you the honor of setting the time for me to pray for you and your officials and your people that you and your houses may be rid of the frogs, except for those that remain in the Nile." 10 "Tomorrow," Pharaoh said. Moses replied, "It will be as you say, so that you may know there is no one like the LORD our God.

• If Pharaoh had the opportunity to set the time to be rid of the frogs, why would he choose to put up with them for another night? Is there anything you need to face that you are avoiding?

15 But when Pharaoh saw that there was relief, he hardened his heart and would not listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the LORD had said.

• Pharaoh’s attitude changed as soon as the frogs were gone. He reminds us of what James says in James 1:24, about the man who forgets what he looks like as soon as he walks away from a mirror. How can you remember what God has shown you during tough times, not neglecting God when times get easier?

The blood and frogs were the first in a series of 10 plagues the Lord brought on Egypt. Here are the the next seven and Pharaoh’s responses.
8:16 gnats ….8:19 "but Pharoh’s heart was hard and he would not listen"
8:21 flies … 8:32 "But this time Pharoah hardened his heart and would not let the people go."
9:1 plague on the livestock …9:7 "Yet his heart was unyielding and he would not let the people go."
9:9 boils … 9:12 "But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart and he would not listen to Moses and Aaron."
9:18 hail … 9:34 "He and his officials hardened their hearts."
10:4 locusts … 10:20 "But the LORD hardened Pharaoh's heart, and he would not let the Israelites go."
10:21 darkness…10:27 "But the LORD hardened Pharaoh's heart, and he was not willing to let them go"

• Over the course of the plagues we read, Pharaoh’s heart became hard, Pharaoh hardened his heart, Pharaoh’s heart was hard, and the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart. Whose fault was it that Pharaoh was hard hearted? Why would God want to harden his heart?

11: 4 So Moses said, "This is what the LORD says: 'About midnight I will go throughout Egypt. 5 Every firstborn son in Egypt will die, from the firstborn son of Pharaoh, who sits on the throne, to the firstborn son of the slave girl, who is at her hand mill, and all the firstborn of the cattle as well.’"
Exodus 12: 3 Tell the whole community of Israel that on the tenth day of this month each man is to take a lamb for his family, one for each household.
7 Then they are to take some of the blood and put it on the sides and tops of the doorframes of the houses where they eat the lambs. 8 That same night they are to eat the meat roasted over the fire, along with bitter herbs, and bread made without yeast.
13 The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are; and when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt.

• Where does the term "passover" come from?

40 Now the length of time the Israelite people lived in Egypt was 430 years. 41 At the end of the 430 years, to the very day, all the LORD's divisions left Egypt. 42 Because the LORD kept vigil that night to bring them out of Egypt, on this night all the Israelites are to keep vigil to honor the LORD for the generations to come.

• Why did God let Israel stay in Egypt so long? Have you ever had to persevere a long time to see God answer prayer?