The Hardening of Pharoah's Heart

The Lord sent Moses to Pharaoh three times. Each time the Lord hardened Pharaoh's heart. Each time the Pharaoh made it harder on the children of Israel. After one of the times, Pharaoh took away the bricks that the slaves were supplied with to do their work. Pharaoh took the bricks away and did not provide anymore bricks, yet the slaves were required to do the same amount of work in the same amount of time. Even though they had to make their own bricks.

You know the story. The Lord caused hail the size of golf balls to fall. He sent the frogs to cover the land, and after each time Pharaoh refused to let the children of Israel go. Remind you now, that the Lord brought all of this hardship on the children of Israel by hardening Pharaoh's heart. The last time that Moses asked Pharaoh to let the children of Israel go, God told Moses to tell the children of Israel to put blood over their door post. The Lord was going to send a plague. The plague would pass over those who had blood over their door post. The plague came and killed a huge number of Egyptians including Pharaoh's only child. The Pharaoh called for Moses and told Moses to take his people and to leave Egypt. Pharaoh required the slave owners to give the slaves money, jewelry, and cattle for all the years they had slaved, and to send them on their way. 

Pharaoh was more than incensed. He sent his army to kill Moses and the slaves--the children of Israel. Moses and the huge crowd of people came to the edge of the sea. They were trapped between the sea and Pharaoh's army who were in eyesight by this time as the children of Israel were on foot.

God told Moses to hold up his rod. God told Moses to turn water into blood with his rod. God told Moses to throw down his rod and it turned into a snake. God told Moses to hold up his rod and face the sea. God parted the red sea. God parted the sea and the ground was dry so that the very huge crowd of people walked through the divided waters with all of their belongings. Pharaoh's soldiers were in hot pursuit. As soon as the last Israeli stepped out of the parted river, the Lord allowed the walls of water to fall--drowning Pharaoh's soldiers who by this time were in the middle of the red sea.