Lesson Four: THE PLAGUES
Introduction: Sometimes, like the stubborn donkey, a heart needs a jolt before it moves. This week, we see that Pharaoh’s refusal to let Israel go wasn’t just defiance—it was economic greed, a grip on power built on the backs of slaves. When Moses delivered God’s command—“Let My people go!”—Pharaoh wouldn’t budge. God had to get his attention. This wasn’t just about plagues or power—it was about awakening a hardened heart to the authority of the Almighty. Like Pharaoh, we may cling to what benefits us, even if it enslaves others. But when God speaks, He demands more than attention—He demands surrender, and He won’t be ignored.
Memory Text: Exodus 9:35(NKJV)
So the heart of Pharaoh was hard; neither would he let the children of Israel go, as the Lord had spoken by Moses.
SABBATH; For a farmer to be able to get the attention of an animal, to make it move, he is compelled to beat it. In as much as people are not animals, but rather human beings created by God, Pharaoh being one of them, the Lord used means to get his attention and persuade him to let His people go since he had refused to heed to the Lord’s commands that had been delivered by Moses.
(READ Exodus 1:10 )
SUNDAY: The Egyptians believed in the Uraeus goddess Wadjet, which was said to be a god that led Pharaoh to the afterlife and had power over Lower Egypt as well. When the Lord commanded Moses and Aaron to cast his rod as a miraculous sign before Pharaoh when it turned into a serpent, the fact that it swallowed up seven other serpents of the magicians signified God’s great power and Sovereignty and his Lordship over Egypt as well, unlike Pharaoh who claimed to be the god of Egypt.
(READ Exodus 7:8-15; 12:12; Numbers 33:4)
MONDAY: God sent plagues to help Pharaoh repent and free him from the darkness and error of his mind. But the more the Lord did so, the more Pharaoh stood his ground of rebelling against Him, thus hardening his heart towards God and the commands the Lord had given him. Likewise, the free will that God gave Adam and Eve and all individuals right through till today, is the same free will that He gives us today. However, choosing to do wrong(disobedience to God’s law) is similar to hardening one’s heart, just like Pharaoh did.
(READ Exodus 7:3,13,14,22; 4:21; Romans 1:24-32; 9:17&18)
TUESDAY: Water is life. And God is the Source of life, water and every other basic need that man needs. The Plague of turning water into blood was God revealing Himself to Pharaoh that He is the Only true Source of life. The second plague, being frogs, demonstrated God’s power as well. The third Plague, being lice over the entire Egypt, which the magicians couldn’t replicate, unlike the first two Plagues, demonstrated God’s Sovereignty as well, and this was declared by the magicians’ report to Pharaoh, saying “This is the finger of God.”
(READ Exodus 7:14-8:19)
WEDNESDAY: The third plague being flies, the fourth plague being death of livestock and the fifth plague being boils upon Egypt, all signified that the gods represented by these animals could not save those that believed in them. This continued to show furthermore that the Lord is the Only Sovereign One and Almighty God who deserves our worship and praise.
(READ Exodus 8:20-9:12)
THURSDAY: Hail is the sixth plague, locusts are the seventh plague, and darkness is the eighth plague upon Egypt. At this point, the Egyptians continuously tell Pharaoh to let the Israelites go, just as the Lord had commanded; however, he refuses to obey even after he has shown elements of believing that God is all-powerful. However, amidst all these plagues, Israel was unaffected by any of them.
(READ Exodus 9:13-10:29)
FRIDAY; With what was happening to the Egyptians, God wanted His people(the Israelites) to know the effects of idolatry, cruelty and oppression. God gave Pharaoh all the evidence he needed to let His people go, but he stubbornly refused to obey. Through all the nine plagues, the Lord wanted the Egyptians to willingly obey Him, for He does not wish to destroy anyone. And time was bought for them right before the last plague of them all, being the death of their firstborns.
(READ The Plagues of Egypt,” pp. 265–272, in Patriarchs and Prophets by Ellen G White)
CAPTIONS:
SUNDAY: God vs. gods
MONDAY: Who hardened Pharaoh’s heart?
TUESDAY: The first three plagues
WEDNESDAY: Flies, livestock and boils
THURSDAY: Hail, locusts and darkness
FRIDAY: Further thought
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS;
- How can we allow the Lord to have Sovereignty over any of the “gods” seeking supremacy in our lives?
- What free-will choice(s) are you going to make in the next day or so? If you know what the right choice is, how can you prepare yourself to make it?
- Think about how hard Pharaoh’s heart was. Repeated rejection of God’s prompting only made it worse. What lessons are here for each of us about constant rejection of the Lord’s propmptings?
- Pharaoh’s problem wasn’t intellectual; he had enough rational evidence to make the right choice. Instead, it was a problem of his heart. What should this tell us about why we must guard our hearts?
- What is so attractive about idolatry? Why was it so difficult for the Egyptians to break with their idolatry, even after they saw what kind of devastation it brought?
