THE KING'S HARD HEART

 

There once was a king in Egypt with a very hard heart.  This king did not know and love the true and living God.  He worshipped idols made of wood and stone.  The king was a very wicked and sinful man.  He treated people badly.  For many years he kept the people of Israel in his country and made them work very hard as slaves.

 

One day God told two brothers named Moses and Aaron to go to the king and give him a message from God.  The message was this, "Let my people go."  God wanted the king of Egypt to let the people of Israel go free so they could live in their own country and serve Him and not be slaves anymore in Egypt.  When Moses and Aaron gave the king this message, the king's heart was hardened.  He refused to listen to what God said.  He refused to let the people of Israel go.

 

Because of the king's hard heart, God sent terrible plagues (terrible disasters) to Egypt.  God wanted the king and all the people in Egypt to know that He is the true and living God. 

 

The first plague was the PLAGUE OF BLOOD.  God caused all the water in Egypt to turn into blood.  The Nile River turned to blood.  The water in their homes turned to blood.  The water in their cooking pots turned to blood.  There was no clean water anywhere in Egypt for the people of Egypt to drink.  It was awful!  How did the wicked king feel about this?  The Bible says the king's heart was hardened and he did not listen to the Lord.

 

Moses and Aaron went to the king again with God's message and said, "Let my people go."  The king refused so God sent the second terrible plague.  This was the PLAGUE OF FROGS.  Frogs came up out of the river and hopped everywhere in the land of Egypt.  They hopped into people's yards.  They hopped into people's homes.  They hopped into people's bedrooms.  They hopped into people's beds.  Frogs even hopped into people's ovens and right into their food!  Frogs were everywhere.  It was awful!  What did the king do about this?  His heart remained hardened.  He refused to obey God and let the people of Israel go.

 

God sent a third terrible plague -- THE PLAGUE OF LICE.  The dust in Egypt all became lice that covered people and animals.  The itching and scratching must have been just awful!  Did the king change his mind and decide to let the people go?  The Bible says the kings heart was still hardened.  He refused to let the people go as God said.

 

The next plague that came to Egypt was the PLAGUE OF FLIES.  Great swarms of flies came into Egypt and got all over everybody and everything.  Flies were in the grass.  Flies were on the animals.  Flies were on people.  Flies were on food.  Flies were everywhere you could imagine . . . except on the people of Israel.  God allowed NO flies to bother the people of Israel, only the Egyptians.  This was an awful plague!  Did the king change his mind now and let the people of Israel go?  No.  He still had a very hard heart.

 

Because of the king's hardened heart, God sent a fifth plague on Egypt -- THE PLAGUE ON THE CATTLE.  A disease caused the Egyptians animals to get very sick and thousands of them died.  Their cows died.  Their donkey's died.  Their oxen died.  Their camels died.  Did the animals belonging to the people of Israel get sick and die?  No.  Not even one of their animals got sick or died.  What about the king?  His heart was still hardened and he refused to let the people of Israel go.

 

God loved the people of Israel and He wanted them to be free.  God also loved the people of Egypt and He wanted them to know that He is the true and living God.  Because of God's love, He sent yet another plague so that the people would believe.  This plague was the PLAGUE OF BOILS.  Boils were terrible, painful sores that hurt the bodies of the Egyptian people.  The people who got boils were in a lot of pain.  This was an awful plague for the people of Egypt.  Did the king change his mind and let the people of Israel go?  No.  His heart was still hard and he refused to let the people go.

 

Moses and Aaron went back to the king with the same message from God, "Let my people go."  The king would not listen to God, so God sent the seventh plague -- THE PLAGUE OF HAIL.  Hailstorms rained over Egypt with huge balls of hail falling from the sky.  The people had never seen hail that big before.  The big balls of hail falling down crushed the crops that were growing in the field.  The big hail balls fell on animals and killed them.  The hail was so big that it also fell on trees and broke their branches.  The hailstorm was an awful plague.  How was the king's heart now?  Still hardened.

 

God sent another plague.  This eight plague was the PLAGUE OF LOCUSTS.  Locusts are something like grasshoppers.  A few grasshoppers are no problem at all, but God sent thousands and thousands of them.  There were so many locusts that they covered the ground.  You couldn't even take one step without squishing locusts under your feet.  All these locusts ate up any green thing left after the hailstorm.  This was another awful plague.  God wanted to get the attention of the people of Egypt.  Did it work?  Did the king change his mind and let God's people go?  Not yet.

 

The ninth plague was the PLAGUE OF DARKNESS.  The Bible tells us that God caused a thick darkness to cover the land of Egypt for three days.  It was totally pitch black.  The Egyptian people couldn't leave their houses because they couldn't see anything.  They couldn't even see each other.  But, there was light in the homes of the people of Israel.  They could see during this terrible plague. 

 

God had sent nine terrible disasters on Egypt.  He loved the people and He wanted them to know that He is the true and living God.  Did the people turn to God?  Did the king finally listen and let the people of Israel go from Egypt? 

 

YOU'LL HAVE TO CHECK NEXT WEEK'S MOUSETALES TO FIND THE ANSWER TO THESE QUESTIONS.  OR, FIND THE ANSWER YOURSELF BY READING THIS STORY IN THE BIBLE.  LOOK IN THE BOOK OF EXODUS AND BEGIN READING AT CHAPTER 11. 

 

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