13. Exodus Chapter 5 verse 21 to the end of Chapter 13.

Pharaoh would not let the Israelites leave Egypt and Moses became very upset

with God. he complained that since God had requested that they leave this had

brought misfortune on to his people and God had done nothing to rescue them.

God answered by telling Moses. now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh.

In Chapter 6 verses 2-8 God promises to lead the Israelites to the Promised

Land, and in Chapter 7. he sends Moses back to Pharaoh with Aaron as his

spokesman. Verse 8 onwards makes fascinating reading as God sends the

following plagues on the Egyptians: - blood, frogs, maggots. flies, cattle

disease, boils. hail, locusts and darkness.

The plague of darkness is very interesting. In 1645 BC a volcanic island called

Thira (now Santorini) erupted and collapsed into the sea. A mightv wave

swept to Crete and destroyed its Minoan civilization. A great cloud of ash

drifted away from the eruption and covered Egypt. 500 miles away. Many

believe this was the cloud of darkness sent by God. But I digress!

Pharaoh must have been made of stern stuff as in spite of all these plagues, he

still refused to let the people go. So we come to chapters 11 and 12. in my

opinion, the most important chapters in the story. Please read them carefully,

because in Chapter 12 you will find the institution of the most important Jewish

festival still celebrated to this day namely, the Feast of the Passover. Read the

very specific rules given to the Israelites.

On the night of the Passover the Lord passed over Egypt killing all the first born

of the Egyptians. The lsraelite children were spared because the doors of their

houses were marked in a certain way (verse 7). Finally, this persuaded Pharaoh

to let the Israelites go. Before they went they asked the Egyptians for, and

received jewellery of silver and gold and clothing. Thus the exodus began

(Chapter 12 verse 37).

The Bible tells us that the Israelites had been settled in Egypt for 430 years It

is interesting to note that they carried the bones of Joseph with them (Chapter

13 verse 19). They were given help to guide them on their Journey The Lord

went with them showing them a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by

night (Chapter 13 verses 21 and 22).

Next time we will cross the Red Sea and discover what happened to the

Egyptians who chased after the Israelites when they realized they

had lost all their slaves.