430 Years later….

The Hebrew speaking descendants of Jacob and his sons settled in Egypt This group of people are often called Israelites because of how Jacob was given the name of Israel after wrestling with God God promised (as part of the covenant) to deliver the Hebrews / Israelites from slavery in Egypt He promised his would led them to the fertile land of Canaan The Hebrews settled in Egypt but as time wore on Joseph and his deeds were forgotten

They were made slaves and the Egyptians feared because there were so many Hebrew Israelites they may take over Pharaoh ordered all first born male babies to be murdered One mother hid her son in a water proof basket and he floated down the Nile River He was saved by an Egyptian princess Grew up as an Egyptian Royal (Moses)

After killing a foreman who was cruel to the Israelites, Moses fled He went into hiding After 80 years God spoke to Moses through a burning bush He ordered Moses to go back to Egypt and free the slaves (Hebrews) He and his brother Aaron confronted the Pharaoh and asked him to free the slaves Pharaoh laughed God sent 10 plagues and he told Moses who warned the Pharaoh

Nile River turned into Blood. The Nile River was the centre of life for the Egyptians. It was were the Egyptians traded and made their money

Frogs

GNATS

Flies (Remember they had no screens of fly sprays back then!)

Plague that killed the livestock

Boils on people and their bodies

Hailstones that destroyed crops and a series of storms

Locusts that ate everything that was left

3 dark days

Moses gave the Pharaoh a chance to free the slaves but he refused…

Last plague was to kill all Egyptian new born males Israelites had faith in God and prepared to be saved They sacrificed a lamb (One year old male) Lambs blood was placed on the doorposts The Israelites prepared for the journey

They shared a meal including unleavened bread Approx. 600, 000 people left on their journey for the promised land

They Pharaoh changed his mind at the last moment and sent his Egyptian army to chase the slaves Moses, with God’s guidance, parted the Red Sea or Sea of Reeds The water closed as the Egyptian army entered the Red Sea

Israelites wondered for 40 years in the desert until they reached the promised land of Canaan They ate manna bread

Moses was called by God to the top of Mt. Sinai were God revealed his name He used the Hebrew name YHWH or Yahweh This is Hebrew meaning “to be” On Mt. Sinai God revealed his laws as part of the covenant Each law was written on a stone tablet 10 commandments Most importantly as part of the covenant is Respect one God

God instructed Moses to build a tent like structure or tabernacle This would serve as a place of worship for the wondering Israelites God could “dwell in their midst” Materials included: goat skin, gold, silver, bronze, wood Inside the tabernacle was the ark of the Covenant

Tabernacle Most Holy Place Holy Place Laver Altar © EBibleTeacher.com Courtyard Entrance

Special box Constructed under God’s orders Carried out and built by the wondering Israelites Eventually to be kept in the Jerusalem Temple when the people had their land Ark was a symbol for the throne of God Visible reminder of God’s power Contained the stone tablets that Moses wrote the commandments on In front was a veil and candelabra There was an altar to burn offerings

All these stories take place in the first five books of the Bible We call these first five books the Torah or Pentateuch These books tell of the covenant and reveal the laws and family tree of Abraham and his descendants

There was 613 Jewish commandments in the Torah 365 are “don’t do” The rest tell us “do this” The laws included How to prepare offerings Ethical laws on how to behave Rituals and food preparation Ways to serve God