In Egypt, Jacob’s family became known as Israelites. After Jacob and Joseph died, a new Pharaoh began to rule. He was afraid that the Israelites were becoming more powerful than the Egyptians. So this Pharaoh made the Israelites slaves. He forced them to make bricks and to work very hard in the fields. But the more the Egyptians forced them to work hard, the more the Israelites grew in number. Because Pharaoh did not like that, he commanded that all the newborn Israelite boys be killed. Can you imagine how scared the Israelites must have been?

An Israelite woman named Jochebed had a beautiful baby boy. To protect him, she put him in a basket and hid it in the reeds of the Nile River. The baby’s sister, Miriam, stayed nearby to see what would happen.

Pharaoh’s daughter came to bathe in the river and saw the basket. Inside she found a crying baby, and she felt sorry for him. Miriam asked: ‘Should I go find a woman who can nurse the child for you?’ When Pharaoh’s daughter said yes, Miriam brought back her own mother, Jochebed. Pharaoh’s daughter said to her: ‘Take this baby, nurse him for me, and I will pay you.’

When the child grew older, Jochebed brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter, who named him Moses and raised him as her own son. Moses grew up as a prince and could have anything he wanted. But Moses never forgot Jehovah. He knew that he was really an Israelite, not an Egyptian. And he chose to serve Jehovah.

At the age of 40, Moses decided to help his people. When he saw an Egyptian beating an Israelite slave, Moses hit the Egyptian so hard that he died. Moses hid the body in the sand. When Pharaoh found out, he tried to kill Moses. But Moses ran away to the land of Midian. Jehovah took care of him there.

Moses lived in Midian for 40 years. He got married and had children. One day while he was taking care of his sheep near Mount Sinai, he saw something amazing. A thornbush was on fire, but it was not burning up! When Moses went near to see why, he heard a voice from inside the bush say: ‘Moses! Do not come any closer. Take off your sandals because you are standing on holy ground.’ It was Jehovah who was talking by means of an angel.

Moses was afraid, so he covered his face. The voice said: ‘I have seen the suffering of the Israelites. I will save them from the Egyptians and bring them to a good land. You are the one who will lead my people out of Egypt.’ Don’t you think that must have surprised Moses?

Moses asked: ‘What should I say when the people ask who sent me?’ God replied: ‘Tell them that Jehovah, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob has sent you.’ Moses then said: ‘What if the people don’t listen to me?’ Jehovah gave Moses proof that He would help him. He told Moses to throw his stick on the ground. Then the stick became a snake! When Moses grabbed the snake by the tail, it became a stick again. Jehovah said: ‘When you perform this sign, it will prove that I sent you.’

Moses said: ‘I’m not a good speaker.’ Jehovah promised him: ‘I will tell you what to say, and I will send your brother Aaron to help you.’ Knowing that Jehovah was with him, Moses took his wife and sons and headed back to Egypt.

The Israelites were forced to work hard as slaves. Jehovah sent Moses and Aaron to Pharaoh with this message: ‘Let my people go so that they can worship me in the wilderness.’ Pharaoh proudly replied: ‘I do not care what Jehovah says, and I will not let the Israelites go.’ Then Pharaoh forced them to work even harder. Jehovah would teach Pharaoh a lesson. Do you know how? He brought the Ten Plagues on Egypt. Jehovah told Moses: ‘Pharaoh is not listening to me. In the morning, he will be at the Nile River. Go to him and tell him that because he has not let my people go, all the water in the Nile will turn into blood.’ Moses obeyed and went to Pharaoh. Pharaoh watched as Aaron hit the Nile with his stick, and the river turned into blood. The river began to stink, the fish died, and there was no fresh water to drink from the Nile. Pharaoh still refused to let the Israelites go.

Seven days later, Jehovah sent Moses back to Pharaoh with this message: ‘If you don’t send my people away, Egypt will be filled with frogs.’ Aaron raised his stick, and frogs began to cover the land. The people found frogs in their houses, in their beds, and in their bowls. There were frogs everywhere! Pharaoh had Moses beg Jehovah to end this plague. Pharaoh promised that he would let the Israelites go. So Jehovah stopped the plague, and the Egyptians piled up the dead frogs, heap after heap. The land began to stink. But, again, Pharaoh would not let the people go.

Then Jehovah told Moses: ‘Aaron must hit the ground with his stick, and the dust will turn into gnats, or small biting flies.’ Immediately there were gnats everywhere. Some of Pharaoh’s own people told him: ‘This plague comes from God.’ But, still, Pharaoh would not let the Israelites go.

Moses and Aaron went to tell Pharaoh God’s message: ‘If you don’t let my people go, I will send gadflies to the land.’ Swarms of gadflies invaded the houses of the Egyptians, both rich and poor. The whole land was full of gadflies. But in the land of Goshen, where the Israelites lived, there were no gadflies. Starting with this fourth plague, the plagues hurt only the Egyptians. Pharaoh pleaded: ‘Beg Jehovah to take these flies away. Your people can go.’ But when Jehovah took the gadflies away, Pharaoh changed his mind. Would Pharaoh ever learn his lesson?

Jehovah said: ‘If Pharaoh does not let my people go, the animals of the Egyptians will become sick and die.’ The next day, the animals began to die. But the animals of the Israelites didn’t die. Still Pharaoh was stubborn, and he wouldn’t give in.

Then Jehovah told Moses to go back to Pharaoh and throw ashes into the air. The ashes became dust that filled the air and settled on all the Egyptians. The dust caused painful sores to break out on all of the Egyptians and their animals. Even so, Pharaoh refused to let the Israelites go.

Jehovah sent Moses back to Pharaoh with His message: ‘Are you still refusing to send my people away? Tomorrow hail will rain down on the land.’ The next day, Jehovah sent hail, thunder, and fire. It was the worst storm Egypt had ever seen. All the trees and crops were ruined, but not those in Goshen. Pharaoh said: ‘Beg Jehovah to make this stop! Then you can go.’ But as soon as the hail and the rain stopped, Pharaoh changed his mind.

Then Moses said: ‘Now locusts will eat any plants that were left over from the hailstorm.’ Millions of locusts ate up everything that was left in the fields and on the trees. Pharaoh pleaded: ‘Beg Jehovah to send these locusts away.’ But even after Jehovah stopped the locusts, Pharaoh was still stubborn.

Jehovah told Moses: ‘Stretch out your hand toward the sky.’ Immediately, the sky became completely dark. For three days, the Egyptians could not see anything or anybody. Only the Israelites had light in their houses.

Pharaoh said to Moses: ‘You and your people can go. Just leave your animals here.’ Moses said: ‘We must take our animals so that we can offer them to our God.’ Pharaoh was very angry. He shouted: ‘Get away from me! If I see you again, I will kill you.’

Moses promised Pharaoh that he would not try to see him again. But before he left, he told Pharaoh: ‘At midnight, every firstborn child in Egypt, from the son of Pharaoh to the sons of the slaves, will die.’

Jehovah told the Israelites to have a special meal. He said: ‘Kill a one-year-old male sheep or goat, and put some of its blood on your doorway. Roast the meat, and eat it along with unleavened bread. Be dressed, with your sandals on, ready to go. This night I will set you free.’ Can you imagine how excited the Israelites must have been?

At midnight, Jehovah’s angel went to every house in Egypt. In the houses that were not marked with blood on the doorway, the firstborn died. But the angel passed over the houses marked with blood. Every Egyptian family, rich and poor, lost a child. But not one of the Israelite children died.

Even Pharaoh’s own son was dead. Pharaoh could not take it anymore. He immediately told Moses and Aaron: ‘Get up. Get out of here. Go and worship your God. Take your animals and go!’

Under a full moon, the Israelites marched out of Egypt, organized by family and tribe. There were 600,000 Israelite men and many women and children. Also, a lot of other people went with them so that they could worship Jehovah too. The Israelites were free at last!

To remember how Jehovah had saved them, they would have that same special meal each year. It was called the Passover.

As soon as Pharaoh heard that the Israelites had left Egypt, he changed his mind about sending them away. He commanded his warriors: ‘Get all my war chariots ready, and let’s chase after them! We should not have let them go.’ He and his men began chasing the Israelites.

Jehovah was leading his people, using a cloud during the day and fire at night. He led them to the Red Sea, and he told them to set up camp.

Then the Israelites saw Pharaoh and his army chasing after them. They were trapped between the sea and the Egyptian army. They cried out to Moses: ‘We are going to die! You should have left us in Egypt.’ But Moses said: ‘Don’t be afraid. Wait and see how Jehovah will save us.’ Moses really trusted in Jehovah, didn’t he?

Jehovah told the Israelites to break camp. That night, Jehovah moved the cloud and placed it between the Egyptians and the Israelites. On the Egyptian side, there was darkness. But on the Israelite side, there was light.

Jehovah told Moses to stretch out his hand over the sea. Then Jehovah made a strong wind blow all night long. The sea was split in two, and there was a pathway down the middle. The millions of Israelites marched on dry ground, between the walls of water, to the other side.

Pharaoh’s army followed the Israelites into the dry seabed. Then Jehovah threw the army into confusion. The wheels began to fall off their chariots. The soldiers shouted: ‘Let’s get out of here! Jehovah is fighting for them.’

Jehovah told Moses: ‘Stretch out your hand over the sea.’ At once, the walls of water collapsed on the Egyptian army. Pharaoh and all his men died. Not one of them survived.

On the other side of the sea, the large crowd of people praised God with a song: “Sing to Jehovah, for he has become highly exalted. The horse and its rider he has hurled into the sea.” While the people sang, the women danced and played tambourines. Everyone was very happy that now they were truly free.

About two months after leaving Egypt, the Israelites arrived at Mount Sinai and set up camp. Jehovah called to Moses, who went up on the mountain, and told him: ‘I saved the Israelites. If they obey me and keep my laws, they will become my special people.’ Moses went back down and told the Israelites what Jehovah had said. How did they respond? They answered: ‘We will do everything Jehovah tells us to do.’

Moses went up the mountain again. There, Jehovah said: ‘In three days, I will speak to you. Warn the people not to try to come up to Mount Sinai.’ Moses went down and told the Israelites to get ready to hear from Jehovah.

Three days later, the Israelites saw lightning and a dark cloud on the mountain. They also heard loud thunder and the sound of a horn. Then Jehovah came down on the mountain in fire. The Israelites were so afraid that they trembled. The whole mountain shook violently and was covered in smoke. The sound of the horn got louder and louder. And then God said: ‘I am Jehovah. You must not worship any other gods.’

Moses went back up on the mountain, and Jehovah gave him laws for the people about how they should worship Him and how they should behave. Moses wrote down the laws and then read them to the Israelites. They promised: ‘We will do everything Jehovah tells us to do.’ Yes, they made a promise to God. But would they keep it?

Jehovah said to Moses: ‘Come up to me on the mountain. I will write my laws on stone tablets and give them to you.’ Moses climbed the mountain and stayed there for 40 days and nights. While he was there, Jehovah wrote the Ten Commandments on two stone tablets and gave the tablets to Moses.

After some time, the Israelites thought that Moses had left them. They said to Aaron: ‘We want someone to lead us. Make a god for us!’ Aaron said: ‘Give me your gold.’ He melted the gold and made a statue of a calf. The people said: ‘This calf is our God who led us out of Egypt!’ They began to worship the golden calf, and they had a celebration. Was that wrong? Yes, because the people had promised to worship only Jehovah. But now they were breaking that promise.

Jehovah saw what was happening, and he told Moses: ‘Go down to the people. They are disobeying me and worshipping a false god.’ Moses went down the mountain, carrying the two tablets.

As he came close to the camp, Moses heard the people singing. Then he saw them dancing and bowing down to the calf. Moses was very angry. He threw the two tablets to the ground, and they broke into pieces. He immediately destroyed the statue. Then he asked Aaron: ‘How did the people convince you to do this terrible thing?’ Aaron said: ‘Don’t be angry. You know how these people are. They wanted a god, so I threw their gold into the fire and this calf came out!’ Aaron should not have done that. Moses went back up the mountain and pleaded with Jehovah to forgive the people.

Jehovah forgave those who were willing to obey him. Can you see how important it was for the Israelites to follow Moses’ leadership?

When Moses was on Mount Sinai, Jehovah told him to build a special tent, called a tabernacle, where the Israelites could worship Him. They would be able to carry the tabernacle with them as they moved around.

Jehovah said: ‘Tell the people to give what they can to help build the tabernacle.’ The Israelites gave gold, silver, copper, precious stones, and jewelry. They also gave wool, linen, animal skins, and many other things. They were so generous that Moses had to tell them: ‘We have enough! Do not bring any more.’

Many skilled men and women helped to build the tabernacle. Jehovah made them wise for the work. Some spun thread, wove fabric, or embroidered it. Others set stones, worked with gold, or carved wood.

The people built the tabernacle just as Jehovah had told them. They made a beautiful curtain to separate the tabernacle into two sections, the Holy and the Most Holy. In the Most Holy was the ark of the covenant, made of acacia wood and gold. In the Holy was a golden lampstand, a table, and an altar for burning incense. In the courtyard was a copper basin and a large altar. The ark of the covenant reminded the Israelites of their promise to obey Jehovah. Do you know what a covenant is? It’s a special kind of promise.

Jehovah chose Aaron and his sons to work at the tabernacle as priests. They had to take care of it and make offerings there to Jehovah. Only Aaron, the high priest, was allowed to enter the Most Holy. He did this once a year to present a sacrifice for his sins, the sins of his family, and the sins of the whole nation of Israel.

The Israelites finished the tabernacle one year after they left Egypt. Now they had a place to worship Jehovah.

Jehovah filled the tabernacle with his glory and had a cloud appear above it. As long as the cloud was above the tabernacle, the Israelites remained where they were. But when the cloud lifted, they knew that it was time to move. They would take the tabernacle apart and follow the cloud.

The Israelites left Mount Sinai and traveled through the desert of Paran to a place called Kadesh. There Jehovah told Moses: ‘Send 12 men, one from each tribe, to spy out Canaan, the land that I will give to the Israelites.’ So Moses chose 12 men and said to them: ‘Go to Canaan, and find out if the land is good for growing food. See whether the people are weak or strong and whether they live in tents or in cities.’ The 12 spies, including Joshua and Caleb, left for Canaan.

After 40 days, the spies returned, bringing back figs, pomegranates, and grapes. The spies reported: ‘It is a good land, but the people are strong and the cities have high walls.’ Then Caleb said: ‘We can conquer them. Let’s go right away!’ Do you know why Caleb said that? Because he and Joshua trusted in Jehovah. But the other ten spies said: ‘No! The people there are huge, like giants! We seemed like grasshoppers next to them.’

The Israelites were discouraged. They began to complain and say to one another: ‘Let’s choose a different leader and go back to Egypt. Why should we go to this place and be killed?’ Joshua and Caleb said: ‘Do not disobey Jehovah, and do not be afraid. Jehovah will protect us.’ But the Israelites would not listen. They even wanted to kill Joshua and Caleb!

What did Jehovah do? He said to Moses: ‘After everything I have done for the Israelites, they still do not obey me. So they will stay in the wilderness for 40 years, and here they will die. Only their children and Joshua and Caleb will live in the land that I promised to give them.’

Some time later, while the Israelites were in the wilderness, Korah, Dathan, Abiram, and 250 others rebelled against Moses. They said to him: ‘We have had enough of you! Why should you be our leader and Aaron be the high priest? Jehovah is with all of us, not just you and Aaron.’ Jehovah was not pleased. He viewed it as a rebellion against him!

Moses told Korah and his supporters: ‘Come to the tabernacle tomorrow, and bring your fire holders filled with incense. Jehovah will show us whom he has chosen.’

The next day, Korah and the 250 men went to meet Moses at the tabernacle. There they burned incense as if they were priests. Jehovah told Moses and Aaron: ‘Separate yourselves from Korah and his men.’

Although Korah had gone to Moses at the tabernacle, Dathan, Abiram, and their families had refused to go. Jehovah told the Israelites to get away from the tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. Immediately, the Israelites moved away. Dathan, Abiram, and their families stood outside their tents. Suddenly the ground split apart and swallowed them up! At the tabernacle, a fire came down and burned up Korah and his 250 men.

Jehovah then told Moses: ‘Take a staff from the leader of each tribe, and write his name on it. But on the staff of the tribe of Levi, write Aaron’s name. Put them inside the tabernacle, and the staff of the man whom I choose will grow flowers.’

The next day, Moses brought out all the staffs and showed them to the leaders. Aaron’s staff had flowers growing, and there were ripe almonds on it. In this way, Jehovah confirmed that he had chosen Aaron to be the high priest.