BACKGROUND FOR THE LESSON.
When God appeared to Moses in the burning bush, Moses gave excuses for why he was not able to go to Pharaoh and tell him to let Israel go (see Exodus 3:11-13; 4:1-9). His last excuse was that he was “not eloquent and was slow of speech” (see Exodus 4:10-12). This response caused God to become angry with Moses (see Exodus 4:14). Then the LORD told him that Aaron, his brother was already on the way to meet him, and he would speak for him (see Exodus 4:14-16). Moses then returned to Jethro his father-in-law and asked for his permission to go back to Egypt to check on his family, and Jethro agreed. God also told Moses that it was okay to return to Egypt because those who sought to kill him were now dead (see Exodus 4:18-20). Moses then gathered his family, returned to Egypt and along with Aaron his brother, they told the Israelites what God said that He was going to do (see Exodus 4:27-31). In chapter 5, Moses and Aaron begin their contest with Pharaoh demanding that he let God’s people go. Of course Pharaoh refused, and increased the work load on the Hebrew slaves. In chapter 6, God encouraged Moses and Aaron to continue to press Pharaoh while warning them that Pharaoh would not release His people. In chapters 7-10, God brings nine of the ten plagues upon Egypt which included water turning to blood (see Exodus 7:14-25), frogs covering the land (see Exodus 8:1-15), lice and gnats (see Exodus 8:16-19), swarm of flies (see Exodus 8:20-32), diseased livestock (see Exodus 9:1-7), painful boils (see Exodus 9:8-12), hail and fire (Exodus 9:13-35), locusts (see Exodus 10:1-20), and three days of darkness (see Exodus 10:21-29). Then in chapter 11:1-10, God tells Moses that He will bring one last plague which would be the death of every firstborn in Egypt both humans and animals. But even then God said that when Moses tells Pharaoh of this last plague, he still wouldn’t let the people go. This is where this week’s lesson begins.