Moses: A Short Story

One day, an old man named Shaul said to his grandson Simeon "It is time you learned the story of our people. I want to tell you about a tragic time for the Israelites, the time we spent in Egypt. Luckily for us we had a great man named Moses on our side. If it weren 't for Moses our people would still be enslaved by the pharaoh . "I was only a boy then, just about your age," Shaul started. "All of the Israelites were slaves to the horrid Pharaoh of Egypt. Everyone, even the children, worked all day and into the night, building the Pharaoh 's city. "One day I saw Moses walking proudly to Pharaoh 's palace," said Shaul. "I was so curious I immediately dropped my work and crept away. I wanted to hear what this brave man had to say. 'Let God 's

"Days later I woke up to hear a strange rumbling throughout the city. When I listened more closely, it sounded like croaking. I looked outside and saw the land was covered with frogs! It was an amazing sight!" "Where did they come from Simeon asked. "Moses had warned Pharaoh that many terrible plagues would fall over Egypt if God 's people were not set free," Shaul explained. "This was one of those plagues. It was not the first sign that God sent to Egypt, and it would not be the last. Pharaoh promised to set the Israelites free, if only Moses would ask God to take the frogs away. But when the frogs were gone, Pharaoh broke his promise. "God sent swarms of flies upon Egypt, he made the Egyptians cattle sick, he pounded the land with hailstorms, and he took away the sunshine. Each time these tragedies fell on Egypt, Moses went to Pharaoh and demanded, "Let God 's people go! '" "At last God 's powers became too much for Pharaoh and his people," Shaul told his grandson He agreed to let us leave Egypt Moses came to bring my family the good news. "We must leave now," he said, "as quickly as we can." "We left Egypt with nothing and journeyed into the desert," Shaul said. "It was hot and dry, but at least we were free from Pharaoh and

The water flowed over Pharaoh and his soldiers. "We were safe," said Shaul, "and we continued our difficult journey through the desert. "What happened? How did you survive asked Simeon. "It is not a happy story, but I will tell you now," said Shaul. "We walked through the hot desert with very little to eat for many months. We suffered greatly, but still we sang to God and prayed, and he provided food for us. "Then one day Moses told everyone to wait for him, and he climbed up to a mountaintop. He said he was going to talk to God. He was gone for a long time. Some of the Israelites did not want to wait. Finally, Moses returned with two tablets containing the laws that God had spoken to him. They were Ten Commandments from God, and we still follow them today." "I know them all, Grandfather said Simeon proudly. "You taught them to me. "We followed the laws that God had commanded," Shaul continued. "And we followed Moses as he led us through the desert. God took care of us. He brought us to this place, which we call Israel. It is our promised land, our country, and our home. "God watched over his children in the desert said Shaul. "We have the Ten Commandments to guide us, and we have a very important story to tell our children and our