"Go speak to Pharaoh", God had said
"To let my people go,
And if he will not do this then
My power I will show".
To Pharaoh's palace Moses went
To do as he was told,
And God sent Aaron at his side
To help him be real bold.
"Oh no!" cried Pharaoh in a rage
"You will remain right here.
My servants you will always be.
Your God I do not fear!"
"Your people are so lazy now,
They've not enough to do;
And so your work load will increase.
I'll make it hard for you."
"The straw you get to make the bricks
I will not give to you.
You'll find your own for making them
And just as many too.
Aaron threw down the rod he had;
It turned into a snake.
Pharaoh did not believe it, but
He thought it was a fake.
The wise men and magicians came
And did a simple trick.
They found a snake and made it stiff
So it looked like a stick.
When Aaron's ate their snakes all up
Then turned back to a rod,
They didn't even recognise
It was a sign from God!
Soon Aaron's rod was used again
When it was held up high,
To turn the river into blood
As Pharaoh passed nearby.
The water was so horrible,
The people could not drink.
To make things worse, the fish all died
And soon began to stink
When the magicians copied this
Their water came out red,
So Pharaoh still did not believe
Just as the LORD had said.
Next frogs came at the Lord's command.
They got in every place,
In beds, in stoves and in the food
Until there was no space.
"Take them away" Pharaoh cried out
"Your people can go free.
Take them and make your sacrifice.
Please pray to God for me."
The next day when the frogs had gone,
He would not let them leave
That Israel's God is God alone
Pharaoh did not believe.
A plague of lice to make them itch,
Then flies to spoil the land;
A sickness so the cattle died
Was part of what God planned.
But Pharaoh was a stubborn man,
He would not let them go;
More plagues would come until he learnt
What he needed to know.
Pharaoh believed in many gods
Like creatures and the sun.
He had to learn this was not true
God is the only one.
The next plague God through Moses sent
Was boils which were sore.
So the magicians tried their best,
But could not make some more.
A warning message came from God,
"Take everything inside".
Fire, hail and thunder hit the land
And everything left died.
Large locusts came and filled the land,
Brought by the eastern wind.
To Moses, Pharaoh cried in fear,
"Against your God I've sinned."
"Please pray to God for me this time;
Your people can depart."
But God had hardened Pharaoh's heart.
He would not let them start.
Then darkness came which was so thick,
There was not any lights;
The land of Egypt was all black
For three whole days and nights.
To Moses Pharaoh spoke again,
"Leave here and go away.
And sacrifice unto your God,
Only your flocks will stay"
Moses replied, "This is not right.
We'll take them all with us".
But Pharaoh did not like this plan,
And he made quite a fuss.
"Dont come to me again", he said
"And if you even try,
The day I see your face again
Will be the day you die"
God said to Moses, "Here's my plan,
I'll send just one plague more.
Let every family kill a lamb,
Put blood above the door."
The fourteenth day of Nissan came
And they sat down to eat,
They were all packed, ready to leave
And sandals on their feet.
At midnight the Egyptians knew
What Israel's God had done.
In every house without the blood
He'd killed the oldest son.
"Leave here right now! Take what you want.
We'll give you jewels and gold.
Your flocks must leave our land today".
The Israelites were told.
The ten plagues soon were heard about,
Both near and far abroad,
How Pharaoh learnt the hardest way,
God cannot be ignored.
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