The Ten Plagues

Jim and Bob learn about...

...The Ten Plagues

(Puppets up)

Jim: Bob the Bobtastic, are you ready to finish the Moses story today?

Bob: Probably not FINISH IT…but I can tell you a little more about it.

Jim: Alright, Bobby, fire away!

Bob: When we left off, Moses had been told by God to save the Israelites from Egyptian captivity. Today we’ll figure out how he did it.

Jim: Argh! Spoiler alert! You just told me that he did it!

Bob: Yeah, but if God wants something done, do you think that it won’t be?

Jim: Touché.

Bob: Alright. So, today’s segment of Moses’s story begins in Exodus 3. The chapter ends with God talking to Moses through the Burning Bush. (Holds up phone) We’ll start in verse 17. It reads: “And I have said I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt to the land of the Canaanites and the Amorites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites, to a land flowing with milk and honey.”

Jim: Hold up! Too many words, not enough explanations. What is this verse saying?

Bob: In this verse, God is promising Moses that the Israelites would be free from Egyptian slavery. And that God would be with them every step of the way.

Jim: So what did He do?

Bob: God instructed Moses to return to Egypt, and go before Pharaoh. He would then tell Pharaoh to let the Israelites go, and then give a sign to show that he was acting on God’s will.

Jim: What was the sign?

Bob: This part is really cool: God turned Moses’s brother’s staff into a living snake!

Jim: Three questions!

Bob: (Sigh) What are they?

Jim: #1: Who was Moses’s brother?

Bob: Moses’s older brother was a man named Aaron. Aaron would later go on to become a High Priest…but that’s another story. All you need to know is that he is Moses’s older brother.

Jim: Alrighty. #2: God turned WHAT into a snake?

Bob: Aaron’s staff!

Jim: Isn’t that like a musical term?

Bob: Argh! Different KIND of staff! Aaron’s staff would’ve most likely resembled a walking stick you might see today.

Jim: Oh. Ok. #3: Are the Narwhals coming up?

Bob: (Growl) I told you yesterday: There are no Narwhals in this entire story! Nowhere! EVER!

Jim: Oh. I just thought it would be really cool if the Narwhals saved the day.

Bob: No, Jim, it wouldn’t be! Can we get back to the story?

Jim: Of course!

Bob: Well, Pharaoh wasn't convinced to let the Israelites go after the snake miracle. So God decided to…convince him.

Jim: How did He do that?

Bob: PLAGUES. Major annoyances, supernatural pests that got steadily worse. God sent these plagues, ten of them in all, as a sign of His power.

Jim: What were they?

Bob: Well, the first one was a pretty serious one. Have you ever heard of the Nile River?

Jim: RIVER! I’ll bet NARWHALS live in it!

Bob: No, Jim. It’s a river that flows through Egypt, it’s the second longest river in the world. And the Egyptians depended on it back then, just like they depend on it now. They use it as a water source for drinking, washing, and watering crops. So this first plague hit them pretty hard.

Jim: What happened?

Bob: God turned the Nile River to blood.

Jim: What? (suspicious) Are you sure that that was God that did that? Couldn’t it have just been a crocodile attack or a Narwhal attack or something that did it?

Bob: No, Jim. It was God. The Bible says it was God, so it was God. Plus, no animal attack could’ve turned the ENTIRE River to blood. Only God could do that. (Ha-ha. Take THAT, Exodus Movie!)

Jim: Oh, man. So did the Israelites go free?

Bob: Nope. Pharaoh was stubborn. The first plague didn’t do the trick.

Jim: Did the second?

Bob: Nope, though I’m sure it did a lot of damage. The second plague was FROGS.

Jim: Oh, frogs aren’t that bad. They’re cute and squishy!

Bob: No no no, Jim. FROGS EVERYWHERE. In people’s houses, in their beds, in their FOOD. Hundreds and hundreds of frogs all over the place!

Jim: Good grief! Surely Pharaoh relented after THAT, right?

Bob: Nope. He didn’t relent after the third one, either.

Jim: What was the third one?

Bob: Lice.

Jim: (Gasp) LICE! I’ve heard of those!

Bob: Really?

Jim: Oh, yes: Lizard-Mice! They’re horrifying!

Bob: (Stares at Jim for a second) No, Jim. Lice are tiny bugs that get in your hair and bug you.

Jim: BUG you? I get it. Nice pun! So these lice aren’t dangerous…they just annoy people?

Bob: Exactly. Same thing with the frogs. These things just annoy people normally, but when they come in large quantities, they can literally drive someone crazy. In fact, plagues 2-4 are just major annoyances.

Jim: And the fourth plague was…?

Bob: God brought a horde of flies upon the land of Egypt. Hundreds of buzzing insects that seem to exist to annoy people!

Jim: Oh, yikes, I HATE flies!

Bob: And they. Were. EVERYWHERE. God had only sent four plagues, and already Egypt had been corrupted by blood, frogs, lice, and flies. And yet STILL Pharaoh didn’t let the Israelites go.

Jim: Oh, man! So what did God do?

Bob: God sent more plagues. But the last six plagues hit a little closer to home than the first four.

Jim: How do ya mean?

Bob: Well, the fifth plague wasn’t a pest. It wasn’t an insect, and it didn’t affect the Nile. God struck down almost all of the livestock of Egypt. Pretty much all of the animals that helped the Egyptians, either in farming or to eat, were dead.

Jim: Time-out, Bob. Three questions.

Bob: (Sigh) What are they?

Jim: #1: Wouldn’t these plagues affect the Israelites? I mean, they’re in Egypt too!

Bob: And that just goes to show the power of God. God made sure that none of the Israelites were harmed by these plagues. He wanted to protect His people.

Jim: Oh, that makes sense. Ok, #2: Why was Pharaoh not letting the Israelites go?

Bob: There are several reasons for this. The first one is the fact that Pharaoh’s magicians could create some of the plagues and miracles that Moses and Aaron created through God.

Jim: WHAT?! HOW DID THEY DO THAT?!

Bob: No one knows. It’s a mystery. But, Jim, the important thing to remember is that they couldn’t do everything God did. They knew some tricks, but in the end, it was God that was truly creating miracles.

Jim: That makes sense.

Bob: But one of the reasons Pharaoh would not relent was because God was hardening Pharaoh’s heart. God didn't LET Pharaoh relent.

Jim: What?! Why did He do that?!

Bob: I believe that God wanted to show His power to the Egyptians, who didn’t believe in Him. He wanted to show that He was better than all of their fake idols.

Jim: That he is, Bob. Ok. #3: Wouldn’t the fifth plague have affected Narwhals?

Bob: (Calm) No, Jim, it wouldn’t have, because…(Angry) THERE ARE NO NARWHALS IN EGYPT! NONE! NOT A SINGLE ONE!

Jim: That’s what you think…

Bob: Can we get on with the story?

Jim: Of course, of course.

Bob: Well, Pharaoh still refused to relent. So God sent the sixth plague. BOILS.

Jim: Ooh, that would’ve been tough. I know, cause I’ve had boils before.

Bob: You? Really?

Jim: Uh-huh. Whenever my mom makes hot cocoa. I’ll always ask when it’s ready, and she’ll say “not until the water BOILS.” So I have to wait. It’s torture.

Bob: Different KIND of boil, Jim. What you’re talking about is the water getting hot. The sixth plague gave people BOILS, which are sores that you get all over your body.

Jim: Oh, yikes. So that was the sixth plague?

Bob: Uh-huh. And the seventh was even worse. It actually killed a few people.

Jim: And Pharaoh still didn’t take the hint? This guy was nuts! What was it?!

Bob: Hail. Have you ever seen hail before?

Jim: I think so, once. Isn’t it like ice falling from the sky?

Bob: Yup. Hail is one of the most dangerous things that falls from the sky. Snow is only dangerous in huge quantities. Same with water. But with hail, each piece can do damage. And even though Moses warned the Egyptians that the hail was coming, some ignored him. They stayed out in their fields with any livestock that had survived the fifth plague. They were struck down.

Jim: Man, some people are just dumb. Was the eighth plague deadly?

Bob: Not EXACTLY. But it definitely could’ve been. The eighth plague was locust.

Jim: Low cuts? How did that starve people?

Bob: A locust is a bug. Kind of like a grasshopper. Back then, the locusts would come in armies, and attack plants. They were a nuisance, no doubt about it. And they attacked all of Egypt’s crops, feasting on the Egyptians’ food.

Jim: So after losing their water, after being severely annoyed by frogs, flies, and lice, after losing their livestock, after being struck down by boils, hail, and locusts, Pharaoh still wouldn’t let the Israelites go?

Bob: Nope. God still had two more plagues left to show His power.

Jim: So what was the next one?

Bob: Darkness, Jim. Darkness over the land of Egypt. Almost the entire region was covered in a pitch darkness that wouldn’t go away.

Jim: “Almost?” Did some of the Egyptians escape it?

Bob: No. The part of the region that wasn’t covered by the darkness was the part the Israelites were living in.

Jim: God takes care of His people, huh, Bob?

Bob: That’s true, Jim. Even while He was showing His power to the Egyptians, He was still taking care of His people.

Jim: So what was the final plague?

Bob: This one is kinda sad, Jim.

Jim: (Sigh) More death?

Bob: Exactly. The tenth plague was that the firstborn of all the Egyptian families died.

Jim: Oh, man. Surely that convinced Pharaoh?

Bob: Yes and no.

Jim: Oh. SAY WHAT?!

Bob: I’m going to have to leave you there. I’ll tell you more tomorrow. We’re out of time for today.

Jim: Oh, ok. See you tomorrow.

Both: Bye!!

END SKIT