Ten Plagues
Pharaoh and Moses © 2005 Maureen Carter
The offspring rise in Jacob's wake
becoming hundreds of thousands
in the land of the snake.
Pharaoh, mindful of threat,
enslaves the Hebrews -
bricks without regret.
Hebrew boys killed at birth
and Israel chained as
people die without worth.
God hears the shouts and cries -
and seeks a man to lead
all Israel from Egypt's heathen ties.
From Pharaoh's palace,
Moses - man of slow speech -
is chosen to rebuke Egyptian malice.
Moses gets his calling
through a burning bush
to lead the Hebrews from mauling.
But Moses doubts: “Who am I to do this?”;
his hand becomes leprous and his staff a snake;
God shows his wish.
Confronting Pharaoh, Moses declares enough dismay:
“The God of Israel says, 'Let my people go!'”
Pharaoh answers, “Who is the Lord, that I should obey?”
Pharaoh demands more bricks for furnace flames,
and hopes his slaves forget Moses;
the Hebrews groan and Moses blamed.
Moses and brother Aaron challenge Pharaoh the unrepentant:
Aaron throws down his staff,
which slithers into a serpent.
Pharaoh's sorcerers too create snakes,
but Hebrew serpent eats Egyptian serpent;
Pharaoh hardens his heart and God's judgement awakes.
Aaron strikes the River Nile
which turns to blood and smells of death.
The sorcerers repeat, making water red and vile.
Aaron brings a tide of frogs upon the land,
the sorcerers follow using magic arts,
but Pharaoh pleads all frogs must go by Moses' hand.
Moses cries to God and the frogs depart;
as Pharaoh sees relief, he scowls
and hardens his heart.
Aaron strikes the dust of the field
which turns to lice; for Egyptian man and beast
a nasty plague revealed.
Egypt's sorcerers fail to create such lice,
exclaiming, “This is the finger of God!” -
but Pharaoh hardens his heart, ignores advice.
Black is Egypt with mighty swarms of flies.
Pharaoh can neither flee nor stand
and Moses responds to the cries.
Moses prays and the flies depart;
but Pharaoh will not let the Hebrews go,
and hardens his heart.
Egypt's livestock dies in the field,
on seeing Hebrew stock unharmed
Pharaoh determines not to yield.
Moses and Aaron grasp handfuls of furnace ash
and throw it to the sky,
becoming boils at which man and beast gnash.
Egypt's sorcerers wither and depart
consumed with boils,
but Pharaoh keeps his hardened heart.
Moses stretches his staff to heaven -
raging thunder, hail and fire;
with vehemence strikes plague seven.
Relenting Pharaoh admits enough spite,
but when storms recede he hardens his heart
and drives both Moses and Aaron from sight.
Moses raises his staff and the plagues advance,
the whirling wind brings locusts
that blacken the sky, consume all plants.
Pharaoh repents and Moses prays against the locust blight;
the wind blows them into the Red Sea,
but Pharaoh hardens, rejecting what is right.
Moses stretches out his hand
and darkness covers Egypt three days;
raging Pharaoh banishes Moses from the land.
God tells Moses that the evil nation,
for its defiance,
will suffer now its final vexation.
With the blood of the lamb freshly killed,
the Hebrews mark their dwelling doors;
as Moses told, so God willed.
At midnight, the destroyer passes over unprotected domain:
a great cry throughout the land -
every first-born slain.
Pharaoh, holding dead son, is crushed and grieves.
summoning Moses and Aaron
he finally permits all Israel leave.
By day, a pillar of cloud,
God guides the Hebrews;
at night by a fiery shroud.
Brooding Pharaoh overflows with hate;
resolving to destroy the Hebrews
fleeing past Egyptian gates.
Taking the reins of Egypt's might
he pursues the Hebrews,
archers, chariots, horses - hurtling to the fight.
The Hebrews gather at the Red Sea mire,
the hordes of Egypt champ
at God's protecting cloud and fire.
Moses stretches out his hand to the churning sea -
the wind bursts the waters to the rocky bed;
a divine path through which to flee.
God asks Moses once more to stretch his hand -
mighty walls of water fall on Egypt's chasing pride
as Israel escapes towards the Promised Land.
© msl 2005