The Ten Plagues (2): Exodus 7

King Pharaoh looked at his servant. “Who did you say is here to see me?” he asked.

“There are two men here to see you, oh king,” replied the servant. “They say they must talk to you. I have seen them come here many times before. They are from those strange people of Israel who live here, and their names are Moses and Aaron.”

“Moses and Aaron?” cried the king. “Not again! They are always asking to leave the country to pray to their God. Send them in once more, and I will see what I can do to get rid of them!”

The servant left. Soon he was back with Moses and Aaron.

“Why are you here again?” growled the king. “I thought I had told you over and over again that you may not go away to pray to your God.”

“Oh king,” replied Moses, “our God asks you one last time if we may leave. If you do not let us go, He will do awful things to you.”

King Pharaoh smiled. “Awful things to me?” he chuckled. “I’ve never even heard of your God! Can He do things to a powerful king like me? Show me something He can do! Show me a miracle! Show me how great He is!”

Isn’t it terrible the way this king is talking? We should never dare God like that, never, never!

Moses and Aaron were not scared away by the king’s bold words. Aaron still had his rod, the stick God had given him, in his hands. He took it — and threw it to the ground!

What! Look at that! That stick — that rod — has turned into a snake!!

Now the king will believe Moses and Aaron, don’t you think? Now he will see that their God can do wonderful things!

But — no. Watch what the king did. King Pharaoh called all his magicians (people who do magic tricks) into the room. Each of them had a stick. And, when they threw them down, they all became snakes, too!

How can such a thing happen? Is God helping the magicians too?

We don’t know. Maybe God made their sticks into snakes so that they would see what a powerful God He was. Maybe Satan, the devil, the one who makes people do wicked things, helped the magicians. But anyway, now their sticks were snakes, too.

Then how will Pharaoh know that Moses’ God is so special? Moses’ God can make sticks into snakes, but so can his own magicians! The king won’t think that is so special.

But — wait. Watch what happens. There was Aaron’s snake. And there were all the other snakes. Aaron’s snake slid... and slithered... and — look! He ate up all the other snakes! That was how God showed that He was more powerful than anyone else.

Do you think King Pharaoh listened to Moses now? Do you think he let the people go away to pray?

No, the king “hardened his heart.” That means, he closed his ears so that he wouldn’t even think about letting the people go. He blocked it all out. He became hard as ice. Ice is hard, isn’t it — it’s not soft until it melts. And Pharaoh kept his heart hard. He did not want to let the people go.

Is our heart like ice when we go to church? Do we melt when we hear the minister telling us to ask for a new heart? Or do we stay hard, like ice, because we don’t even want to think about such things?

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