Moses And His People Celebrate Their Freedom Movement In Songs. Exo 12: 1-222
After God had instructed Moses to go down to Egypt and speak to Pharaoh to let the Israelites go, Moses did as God had commanded him, but Pharaoh’s mind was hardened, and he did not let Israel go, and so he tormented the lives of the Egyptians.
A plague, according to the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, is something that causes pain or trouble to someone over a period of time. It could also mean an infectious disease that kills a lot of people. These plagues took place before Pharaoh released the people of Israel.
- River Nile turned to blood for 7 days: It started with a river and spread to all its branches, such as streams, ponds and pools of water.
- Frogs: These frogs came up abundantly and filled their houses, bed chambers, fields etc.
- Swarm of flies: The Egyptians were plagued by swarm of flies. These flies could come into houses, stain decorative furniture and make life intolerable for the Egyptians. Many Egyptians were destroyed by being stung to death.
- Gnat (Lice):- The dust of the earth in Egypt became lice in man and in beast. All the dust of the land became lice throughout.
- Boils on man and beast: Moses took a handful of ashes from the furnace, and it became small dust in the hand. Also, it provided a painful boil on all man and beast in Egypt.
- Locust: This was ushered by a strong wind that blows all day and all night.
- Death of animals: All the Egyptian cattle, camels and Sheep were killed by a strange ailment but the livestock of the Israelites were preserved.
- Heavy Hailstone with Thunder: These were in the form of lightning,, hail, thunder and destruction of vegetation.
- Three days of darkness: This was the most dreadful because the darkness was so thick to the extent that the Egyptians saw not one another, and they could not move from their places for three days.
- Death of Egyptian firstborn: This plague came upon the Egyptians from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sat on the throne to the firstborn of the captive that was in danger.
After the deliverance of the Israelites from Egypt and the crossing of the Red Sea, Moses and the children of Israel sang songs of victory to God. The content of the songs is as follows;
- I will sing to the Lord, for He has triumphed gloriously, the horses and the rider he has thrown into the sea.
- The Lord is a man of war, the Lord is his name.
- Thy right hand, O Lord, glorious in power, thy right hand shatters the enemy.
- Who is like unto thee, O Lord?. It should be noted that Miriam, the prophetess, the sister of Moses, mobilised women in singing and dancing in appreciation of God for their freedom.
EVALUATION
- Name the plagues sent upon Egypt when Pharaoh refused to let Israel go.
- What was the content of the song of deliverance sang by the people?
GENERAL EVALUATION
- Who were the brother and sister of Moses?
- Narrate the first five plagues that God used to attack the Egyptians.
- Narrate the song of victory which the Israelites sang on the day they crossed the Red Sea.
- Discuss the last plague against the Egyptians
WEEKEND ASSIGNMENT
- Moses parents were both of the tabernacle of ___ (a) Bethlehem (b) Levi
(c) Judah (d) Moab.
- How many months did Moses mother hid him (a) 4 Months (b) 3 months
(c) 2 years and 2 months (d) 1 month
- Moses fled to _____ (a) Midian (b) Haran (c) Jericho (d) Jerusalem
- What is the name of Moses’ father-in-law (a) Elijah (b) Jethro (c) Lot (d) Joshua
- _____ is the name of Moses wife (a) Zippered (b) Rachel (c) Leah (d) Marry
THEORY
- Write down one of the verses of the songs of victory sung by the Israelites after their freedom.
- How did God preserve the firstborn of the Israelites from being destroyed by the angel of death?