Lesson 3: 10 Plagues of Egypt

Scripture

Exodus 7:14-12:30

Quick Summary

            When Pharaoh would not let the Hebrew slaves leave with Moses, God sent 10 Plagues to Egypt. The last plague was called Passover. In this plague, God had all his followers paint their door frames with sheep blood. That night, the angel of death killed all the first born not inside those door frames. That included Pharaoh’s oldest son. Pharaoh finally released the Hebrew slaves, and let them leave captivity.

The Point

God is God Alone!

Questions for Family Time

1.     Which do you think was the worst plague and why?

2.     Why did God send the 10 plagues?

a.      To show he was stronger than all the Egyptian Gods/ to get Pharaoh to let the slaves go

Our Song for Today:

Our new song names all 10 plagues and goes to the tune of “12 Days of Christmas”

On the 1^st Day of Plagues our true God sent to Egypt…

                    ….A river that turned into blood

            2^nd….a fleet of jumping frogs           

            3^rd…a bunch of biting gnats  

            4^th…a swarm of silly flies    

5^th…diseased, dying cows     

6^th…breakout of boils           

7^th…a rainstorm of hail                     

8^th…a load of hungry locusts            

9^th…darkness over the land  

10^th…the death of first born

Deeper

            The last of the 10 plagues is still celebrated by Jews throughout the world to commemorate God freeing the Hebrews from slavery. The last meal before leaving Egypt is served as a yearly holiday called Passover.
            As Christians, Passover is still very important, though for very different reasons. The Bible says that it was at this annual family feast that Jesus gave bread and wine to the disciples and told them to remember him every time they ate these two things. We refer to this as “The Last Supper” because it was the last meal Jesus had before dying for our sins on the cross. Four times a year, we remember this Last Supper through eating bread and drinking grape juice together at church in what we call Communion. We do this as a way to receive the spiritual food God gives us, and to receive Jesus’ sacrifice anew.
            Passover is a big deal for both Jews and Christians because it reminds us of God freeing us from slavery. For Jews, the slavery was a physical one from Egypt. For Christians the slavery was to sin and rebellion toward God. Jesus is the “lamb” slain and his “blood” covers us so we can have eternity with God, just as the death passed over the Hebrews.  

Even though Passover seems a very gruesome story, it is a central story to both the Old and New Testaments. God told the Hebrews to make sure and tell this story generation to generation all through time. It’s hard to understand some of the symbols around Jesus’s story without knowing this story that all his first followers knew since they were children.  

Personal Reflection

            Have you received Communion? Did you receive more than just bread and juice when you took it? How has God freed you from slavery to sin and rebellion?