In this lesson we'll be seeing how Moses stood up to Pharaoh to lead Israel out of slavery in Egypt.

1. Harsh Leadership.

C: After God finally convinced Moses to preach the word, he went to Pharaoh. God promised him victory.

Exodus 3:21-22
21 "And I will make the Egyptians favorably disposed toward this people, so that when you leave you will not go empty-handed.
22 Every woman is to ask her neighbor and any woman living in her house for articles of silver and gold and for clothing, which you will put on your sons and daughters. And so you will plunder the Egyptians."

C: God even said that they would plunder the Egyptians. But when Moses went to Pharaoh in Exod. 5, see his response.

Exodus 5:1-5
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."
3 Then they said, "The God of the Hebrews has met with us. Now let us take a three-day journey into the desert to offer sacrifices to the LORD our God, or he may strike us with plagues or with the sword."
4 But the king of Egypt said, "Moses and Aaron, why are you taking the people away from their labor? Get back to your work!"
5 Then Pharaoh said, "Look, the people of the land are now numerous, and you are stopping them from working."

Q: How did Pharaoh react to their request to hold a small festival in the desert? [He said, "no way!"] How did Moses feel? [Sad, discouraged.]

C: Sometimes we start to preach, like Moses, and we face immediate defeat. But we must not give up.

Exodus 5:6-18
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.'
9 Make the work harder for the men so that they keep working and pay no attention to lies."
10 Then the slave drivers and the foremen went out and said to the people, "This is what Pharaoh says: 'I will not give you any more straw.
11 Go and get your own straw wherever you can find it, but your work will not be reduced at all.'"
12 So the people scattered all over Egypt to gather stubble to use for straw.
13 The slave drivers kept pressing them, saying, "Complete the work required of you for each day, just as when you had straw."
14 The Israelite foremen appointed by Pharaoh's slave drivers were beaten and were asked, "Why didn't you meet your quota of bricks yesterday or today, as before?"
15 Then the Israelite foremen went and appealed to Pharaoh: "Why have you treated your servants this way?
16 Your servants are given no straw, yet we are told, 'Make bricks!' Your servants are being beaten, but the fault is with your own people."
17 Pharaoh said, "Lazy, that's what you are--lazy! That is why you keep saying, 'Let us go and sacrifice to the LORD.'
18 Now get to work. You will not be given any straw, yet you must produce your full quota of bricks."

Q: What did Pharaoh do after the request for a holiday? [He made the Israelites make bricks without straw.]

In v.8, why did Pharaoh think they wanted to go and pray? [Because they were lazy. So he made them work harder.]

Q: How did the work foreman treat the Hebrew slaves who did not make enough bricks because they had to go and collect straw (v.14)? [They beat them.]

When they complained in vv.15-16, did Pharaoh listen? [No. He told them they were lazy (vv.17-18).]

Q: Have you ever been unfairly treated at work? Did you ever have a boss who would not listen? Did you ever see this happen to someone else?

C: Let's make sure at work, college, home, and in the church, that we never lead in this way!

2. Miracles and Hard Hearts

C: God promised Moses and Aaron that he would deliver the Israelites through them. God told them to appear before Pharoah. Each time they appeared, God did a miracle to convince Pharoah to let the people go. But each time Pharaoh hardened his heart.

Q: Do any of you know some of the miracles and plagues that God sent?
- Aaron's staff becomes a snake [Ex 7:8-13]. Exodus 7:13 says that Pharaoh's heart was hard.
1) The plague of blood [Ex 7:14-24]. Exodus 7:22 says that his heart hardened and he didn't listen.
2) The plague of frogs [Ex 7:25-8:15]. Exodus 8:15 says Pharaoh hardened his heart.
3) The plague of gnats [Ex 8:16-8:19]. Exodus 8:19 says that Pharaoh's heart was hard.
4) The plague of frogs [Ex 8:20-32]. Exodus 8:32 says that his heart was hard.
5) The plague on livestock [Ex 9:1-7]. Exodus 9:7 says his heart was unyielding.
6) The plague of boils [Ex 9:8-12]. Exodus 9:12 says his heart was hardened.
7) The plague of hail [Ex 9:13-35]. Exodus 9:35 says Pharaoh's heart was hard.
8) The plague of locusts [Ex 10:1-20]. Exodus 10:20 says his heart was hardened.
9) The plague of darkness [Ex 10:21-29]. Exodus 10:27 says his heart was hardened.
10) The plague on the firstborn [Ex 11:1-10]. Exodus 11:10 says his heart was hardened when he heard the message that all the firstborn children in Egypt would die. But in Exodus 12:31-32, Pharaoh finally let them go.

C: Let's read about one of the plagues, to see why God did this to Pharaoh. We'll read about the 7th plague, the plague of hail.

Exodus 9:13-21
13 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Get up early in the morning, confront Pharaoh and say to him, 'This is what the LORD, the God of the Hebrews, says: Let my people go, so that they may worship me,
14 or this time I will send the full force of my plagues against you and against your officials and your people, so you may know that there is no one like me in all the earth.
15 For by now I could have stretched out my hand and struck you and your people with a plague that would have wiped you off the earth.
16 But I have raised you up for this very purpose, that I might show you my power and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.
17 You still set yourself against my people and will not let them go.
18 Therefore, at this time tomorrow I will send the worst hailstorm that has ever fallen on Egypt, from the day it was founded till now.
19 Give an order now to bring your livestock and everything you have in the field to a place of shelter, because the hail will fall on every man and animal that has not been brought in and is still out in the field, and they will die.'"
20 Those officials of Pharaoh who feared the word of the LORD hurried to bring their slaves and their livestock inside.
21 But those who ignored the word of the LORD left their slaves and livestock in the field.

Q: What did God say in vv.15-16 to Pharaoh? ["I could have already destroyed you. But I've raised you up to show my power, and so that my name could be known in all the world."]

C: God wanted Pharaoh to repent. He kept punishing Pharaoh and his people to show the whole world that the result of sin is always pain and destruction. There are natural laws, and spiritual laws, too. If we violate God's spiritual laws, we will suffer the consequences. Just as the law of gravity means that objects will fall to the ground when we drop them, so the law of sin means that we will suffer when we sin.

Q: Think about your life. Is there any sin you are not willing to give up? Is there hatred in your heart? Lust? Anger? Lies?

C: It is time to change. Let's not be like Pharaoh. No matter what miracles God did, still Pharaoh's heart was hard. Some people will never accept the gospel, no matter what miracles God does in their lives, no matter what pain they suffer.

3. Another Night With the Frogs.

C: There is another plague that we can learn an important lesson from: the plague of frogs. The Bible says in Ex. 8:3 that they were everywhere. They were in beds, in kitchen cupboards, in bookshelfs, in the curtains, everywhere. Can you imagine if this flat was full of frogs?

Q: Where would they be? {Let a few people point out where frogs could be.}

Exodus 8:8-15
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.
11 The frogs will leave you and your houses, your officials and your people; they will remain only in the Nile."
12 After Moses and Aaron left Pharaoh, Moses cried out to the LORD about the frogs he had brought on Pharaoh.
13 And the LORD did what Moses asked. The frogs died in the houses, in the courtyards and in the fields.
14 They were piled into heaps, and the land reeked of them.
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.

C: There were frogs everywhere. Pharaoh asked Moses to pray that they be taken away (v.8). Moses gave Pharaoh the choice: "when do you want the frogs taken away?" Of course, if that was you or me, we'd say today or right now!

Q: But what did Pharaoh say in v.10? ["Tomorrow."]

C: Pharaoh was too proud to say, "today I want to change." Many of us are like him. We have things that we know we need to do. But we say, "tomorrow." We have things we need to change. We have sins that we must give up. And these things are like frogs. They are terrible. Yet we say, "tomorrow I'll change." But tomorrow may never come. Today is the day of decision. Today we must do things. We must not spend another night with the frogs!

4. Saved by the Blood of the Lamb.

C: The last plague was the worst of all. God warned Pharaoh that all the firstborn children and animals in Egypt would die that night if Pharaoh did not let the Israelites go. But God promised the Israelites that he would save them.

Exodus 12:21-23
21 Then Moses summoned all the elders of Israel and said to them, "Go at once and select the animals for your families and slaughter the Passover lamb.
22 Take a bunch of hyssop, dip it into the blood in the basin and put some of the blood on the top and on both sides of the doorframe. Not one of you shall go out the door of his house until morning.
23 When the LORD goes through the land to strike down the Egyptians, he will see the blood on the top and sides of the doorframe and will pass over that doorway, and he will not permit the destroyer to enter your houses and strike you down.

Q: What did Moses tell the people to do? [To spread the blood of a lamb on their doorways. Then the angel of destruction would "pass over" their homes and not kill their first born children.]

C: Let's see what happened next:

Exodus 12:24-36
24 "Obey these instructions as a lasting ordinance for you and your descendants.
25 When you enter the land that the LORD will give you as he promised, observe this ceremony.
26 And when your children ask you, 'What does this ceremony mean to you?'
27 then tell them, 'It is the Passover sacrifice to the LORD, who passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt and spared our homes when he struck down the Egyptians.'" Then the people bowed down and worshiped.
28 The Israelites did just what the LORD commanded Moses and Aaron.
29 At midnight the LORD struck down all the firstborn in Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh, who sat on the throne, to the firstborn of the prisoner, who was in the dungeon, and the firstborn of all the livestock as well.
30 Pharaoh and all his officials and all the Egyptians got up during the night, and there was loud wailing in Egypt, for there was not a house without someone dead.
31 During the night Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said, "Up! Leave my people, you and the Israelites! Go, worship the LORD as you have requested.
32 Take your flocks and herds, as you have said, and go. And also bless me."
33 The Egyptians urged the people to hurry and leave the country. "For otherwise," they said, "we will all die!"
34 So the people took their dough before the yeast was added, and carried it on their shoulders in kneading troughs wrapped in clothing.
35 The Israelites did as Moses instructed and asked the Egyptians for articles of silver and gold and for clothing.
36 The LORD had made the Egyptians favorably disposed toward the people, and they gave them what they asked for; so they plundered the Egyptians.

C: It happened just as Moses said. God's angel destroyed the Egyptians, but spared the Israelites. And finally Pharaoh decided to let the people go. They had been saved by the passover lamb's blood. This story is important for us, because Jesus Christ is our passover lamb. It was his blood that saves us from destruction, because we are God's people. Several passages talk about this:
- In John 1:29 John the Baptist saw Jesus and said, "Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!"
- Later in the Bible, 1 Cor 5:7 says that Christ is our Passover lamb, sacrificed for us!
- Peter writes in 1 Pet 1:18-21 that we've been redeemed by the precious blood of Christ the lamb.
- And in Rev 5:6-10, the Bible talks about Jesus the Lamb in heaven. He has been slain for us, and all of heaven worships him, announcing that he alone is worthy. Jesus has made us to be a kingdom to serve our God. We need to get fired up, because Jesus has done so much for us!

Conclusion

We must learn from Pharaoh not to have a hard heart. Let's not wait until our lives are full of disaster before we repent. Let's change today. Not even one more night with the frogs of sin!