The Story of the Chosen People (Yesterday's Classics) by H. A. Guerber
Authors: H. A. Guerber
Tags: History
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to help him.
Moses was encouraged by this promise, and by the permission to have his brother Aaron act as his spokesman, for he himself was slow of speech; so he now undertook to carry out the Lord's commands. Armed only with rods, he and Aaron presented themselves before Pharaoh. There they told the king that the Lord had ordered them to lead the Israelites into the desert, to celebrate a feast.
The King of Egypt, who did not worship God, haughtily asked, "Who is the Lord, that I should obey his voice?" And he said that he would not let the people go.
To force him to obey God's command, Moses raised his wand, and called down, one after another, ten terrible plagues upon the Egyptians. Thus the waters were changed into blood; frogs overran all the land; lice, flies, and sickness tormented man and beast, and all the people suffered tortures from boils.
Then came terrible plagues of hail, locusts, and darkness so intense that people still use the expression "as dark as Egypt." The king, frightened by each new plague, always promised to let the people go as soon as it was removed; but, when all danger was over, he as often broke his promise, and kept the Israelites at work.
Finally, God sent an angel to kill all the firstborn of the Egyptians, and in the darkness of the night this messenger passed from door to door, doing as the Lord had commanded. By Moses' order, all the Israelites had smeared their doorposts with the blood of a lamb; so wherever the angel saw this sign he passed over the house without doing any harm to the people in it.
Pharaoh lost his firstborn too, on this occasion, and now he no longer dared resist, but gave Moses permission to lead the Israelites into the desert.
CHAPTER XVIII
The Crossing of the Red Sea
T HE Israelites, having finally got Pharaoh's permission to go out into the wilderness, made ready to start. First they borrowed all the golden ornaments of the Egyptians, and then they roasted and ate the lambs whose blood had marked their doorposts.
When they set out, they carried with them some dough which had not had time to rise; and they baked bread from it at their first halting place. In memory of this flight from Egypt, the Jews, at the yearly celebration of the feast of the Passover, still eat the flesh of a lamb and unleavened bread.
The Israelites numbered more than six hundred thousand men, without counting the women and children; but they all followed Moses into the desert, the Lord himself showing them the way by going before them in a pillar of cloud by day, and in a pillar of fire by night.
The Israelites had not been gone long when Pharaoh regretted having allowed them to depart. So he gave orders that an army should set out in pursuit of them, with "six hundred chosen chariots, and all the chariots of Egypt, and captains over every one of them."
The Egyptian cavalry soon came in sight of the host of fugitives, who had stopped near the shores of the Red Sea. Pharaoh rejoiced, for he imagined that it would now be a very easy matter to force them to turn around and come back.
But the Israelites, who had never been very anxious to leave their homes in Egypt, although they had been so badly treated, were terrified when they saw the sea in front of them, and Pharaoh's army behind them. In their fear, they began to murmur against God, and found fault with Moses for bringing them there only to perish.
But when Moses raised his rod, the waters of the sea parted, and allowed the Israelites to go across dry shod. The waters were held back by a high east wind which God had sent for that purpose, and the gale blew all night, until all the people had passed over.
Morning came, and Pharaoh and his army pursued the fleeing host. But now the wind ceased to blow, and the waters, no longer held back, rushed upon the Egyptians and drowned them all.
The Israelites, who had seen the "great work which the Lord did," now believed the Lord and his servant Moses; and the latter celebrated their
Moses was encouraged by this promise, and by the permission to have his brother Aaron act as his spokesman, for he himself was slow of speech; so he now undertook to carry out the Lord's commands. Armed only with rods, he and Aaron presented themselves before Pharaoh. There they told the king that the Lord had ordered them to lead the Israelites into the desert, to celebrate a feast.
The King of Egypt, who did not worship God, haughtily asked, "Who is the Lord, that I should obey his voice?" And he said that he would not let the people go.
To force him to obey God's command, Moses raised his wand, and called down, one after another, ten terrible plagues upon the Egyptians. Thus the waters were changed into blood; frogs overran all the land; lice, flies, and sickness tormented man and beast, and all the people suffered tortures from boils.
Then came terrible plagues of hail, locusts, and darkness so intense that people still use the expression "as dark as Egypt." The king, frightened by each new plague, always promised to let the people go as soon as it was removed; but, when all danger was over, he as often broke his promise, and kept the Israelites at work.
Finally, God sent an angel to kill all the firstborn of the Egyptians, and in the darkness of the night this messenger passed from door to door, doing as the Lord had commanded. By Moses' order, all the Israelites had smeared their doorposts with the blood of a lamb; so wherever the angel saw this sign he passed over the house without doing any harm to the people in it.
Pharaoh lost his firstborn too, on this occasion, and now he no longer dared resist, but gave Moses permission to lead the Israelites into the desert.
CHAPTER XVIII
The Crossing of the Red Sea
T HE Israelites, having finally got Pharaoh's permission to go out into the wilderness, made ready to start. First they borrowed all the golden ornaments of the Egyptians, and then they roasted and ate the lambs whose blood had marked their doorposts.
When they set out, they carried with them some dough which had not had time to rise; and they baked bread from it at their first halting place. In memory of this flight from Egypt, the Jews, at the yearly celebration of the feast of the Passover, still eat the flesh of a lamb and unleavened bread.
The Israelites numbered more than six hundred thousand men, without counting the women and children; but they all followed Moses into the desert, the Lord himself showing them the way by going before them in a pillar of cloud by day, and in a pillar of fire by night.
The Israelites had not been gone long when Pharaoh regretted having allowed them to depart. So he gave orders that an army should set out in pursuit of them, with "six hundred chosen chariots, and all the chariots of Egypt, and captains over every one of them."
The Egyptian cavalry soon came in sight of the host of fugitives, who had stopped near the shores of the Red Sea. Pharaoh rejoiced, for he imagined that it would now be a very easy matter to force them to turn around and come back.
But the Israelites, who had never been very anxious to leave their homes in Egypt, although they had been so badly treated, were terrified when they saw the sea in front of them, and Pharaoh's army behind them. In their fear, they began to murmur against God, and found fault with Moses for bringing them there only to perish.
But when Moses raised his rod, the waters of the sea parted, and allowed the Israelites to go across dry shod. The waters were held back by a high east wind which God had sent for that purpose, and the gale blew all night, until all the people had passed over.
Morning came, and Pharaoh and his army pursued the fleeing host. But now the wind ceased to blow, and the waters, no longer held back, rushed upon the Egyptians and drowned them all.
The Israelites, who had seen the "great work which the Lord did," now believed the Lord and his servant Moses; and the latter celebrated their
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