Moses and Aaron arrived in Egypt with a message from God. They gathered the elders of Israel and performed the signs God had given Moses. The people believed and rejoiced that God had finally visited them.

But now came the hard part: facing Pharaoh. Moses and Aaron went to the palace and said to him:

Pharaoh answered arrogantly:

"Who is the Lord, that I should obey his voice and let Israel go? I do not know the Lord, and I will not let Israel go."

Pharaoh did not only refuse. He ordered that the Israelites no longer be given straw to make bricks, yet be required to produce just as many. The people suffered even more.

Moses cried out to God:

"Lord, why has this people been mistreated? Why did you send me? Ever since I came to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has treated this people even worse, and you have not delivered them."

But God answered:

"Now you shall see what I will do to Pharaoh. With a strong hand he will let them go; with a strong hand he will drive them out of his land."

God was about to show his power in a way Egypt would never forget. The plagues would come, one by one, until Pharaoh learned who the true God was.

THE FIRST PLAGUE: WATER INTO BLOOD

The Lord said to Moses:

"Go to Pharaoh in the morning, as he goes down to the Nile. Take in your hand the staff that turned into a serpent and tell him: the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, sent me to say, let my people go, but until now you have not listened. By this you shall know that I am the Lord: I will strike the water of the river with this staff, and it shall turn into blood."

Moses and Aaron did as the Lord commanded. In the sight of Pharaoh and his servants, Aaron lifted the staff and struck the water of the Nile.

At once, all the water in the river turned to blood. The fish died, the river stank, and the Egyptians could no longer drink its water. There was blood throughout the land of Egypt, in the rivers, the canals, the lakes, even in vessels of wood and stone.

The Egyptians dug along the river looking for water to drink. It was a desperate situation. But Pharaoh's magicians did the same with their secret arts. So Pharaoh's heart was hardened, and he did not listen to them, as the Lord had said.

Seven days passed after the Lord struck the river.

THE SECOND PLAGUE: THE FROGS

The Lord said to Moses:

"Go to Pharaoh and tell him: thus says the Lord: let my people go. If you refuse, I will plague your whole territory with frogs. The river shall swarm with frogs. They will come up and enter your house, your bedroom, your bed, the houses of your servants, your people, your ovens, and your kneading bowls."

When Pharaoh refused again, Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt, and frogs came up and covered the whole land. Frogs in the houses, frogs in the beds, frogs in the food, frogs in the ovens. There was no escaping them. The croaking was deafening, and people stepped on frogs at every stride.

Pharaoh called Moses and Aaron and said:

"Plead with the Lord to take the frogs away from me and my people, and I will let the people go."

Moses prayed, and the Lord did what Moses asked. The frogs died in the houses, the courtyards, and the fields. They were gathered in heaps, and the land stank.

But when Pharaoh saw that there was relief, he hardened his heart and did not listen to them.

THE THIRD PLAGUE: THE GNATS

The Lord said to Moses:

"Tell Aaron to stretch out his staff and strike the dust of the earth, and it shall become gnats throughout the land of Egypt."

Aaron stretched out his hand with the staff and struck the dust of the earth, and there were gnats on man and beast. All the dust of the earth became gnats in all the land of Egypt.

The gnats infested everything: people, animals, clothes, houses. It was impossible to get rid of them. The itching was unbearable, and there was no rest by day or by night.

The magicians tried to do the same with their secret arts, but they could not. This time, their magic failed. They said to Pharaoh:

"This is the finger of God!"

Even the magicians themselves recognized the Lord's power. But Pharaoh's heart was hardened, and he did not listen to them.

THE FOURTH PLAGUE: THE FLIES

The Lord said to Moses:

"Rise up early in the morning, present yourself to Pharaoh, and tell him: thus says the Lord: let my people go. If you do not, I will send swarms of flies on you, on your servants, on your people, and on your houses. But on that day I will set apart the land of Goshen, where my people dwell, and no flies shall be there, so that you may know that I, the Lord, am in the midst of this land."

Pharaoh refused again. Then dense swarms of flies came into the house of Pharaoh and the houses of his servants. Throughout the land of Egypt the land was ruined by the flies.

But in Goshen, where the Israelites lived, there was not a single fly. God was protecting his people, making a distinction between the Egyptians and the Israelites.

This time Pharaoh called Moses and Aaron and said:

"Go, offer sacrifices to your God here in this land."

But Moses answered:

"It would not be right to do so. We will go three days' journey into the wilderness."

Pharaoh tried to bargain:

"I will let you go, but do not go very far."

Moses prayed, and God removed the flies. But once more, when Pharaoh saw that there was relief, he hardened his heart and did not let the people go.

THE FIFTH PLAGUE: THE PLAGUE ON THE LIVESTOCK

The Lord said to Moses:

"Go to Pharaoh and tell him: thus says the Lord, the God of the Hebrews: let my people go. If you refuse and hold them still, the hand of the Lord will fall on your herds in the field, on the horses, the donkeys, the camels, the cattle, and the sheep, with a very severe plague. But the Lord will make a distinction between the livestock of Israel and the livestock of Egypt, and nothing that belongs to the children of Israel shall die."

Pharaoh refused. The next day, the Lord did what he had said, and all the livestock of the Egyptians died. But of the livestock of the Israelites, not one animal died.

Pharaoh sent men to check, and they confirmed that not a single animal of the Israelites had died. Even so, Pharaoh's heart remained hardened, and he did not let the people go.

Five plagues had now fallen upon Egypt. The Lord had turned the water to blood and sent frogs, gnats, flies, and pestilence, each plague more severe than the last. But Pharaoh kept refusing. His pride was so great that, even seeing the power of God, he would not submit.

More plagues would come. And each one would show still more clearly that the God of Israel was the only true God, more powerful than Pharaoh, more powerful than all the gods of Egypt, more powerful than any force on earth.