The Israelites lived in safety under God’s care, while the Egyptians suffered destruction from the plagues. By now many of the Egyptians feared the God of the Israelites and Moses, His servant.

The Lord told Moses, “Pharaoh has hardened his heart, and he refuses to hear my voice. He will not let my people go. In the morning, go stand by the river. When Pharaoh comes, wave your rod over the waters of Egypt.” Moses and Aaron obeyed the Lord. When Aaron struck the water, it turned into blood. All the fish died and a terrible stench hung over the land.

After Moses and Aaron had spoken to the people of Israel, they went to meet Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. They said, “Our God, the Lord God of Israel, is calling us to worship Him. To do this, we and all our people must go on a journey of three days into the wilderness.”

Moses grew up among the Egyptians and learned their wisdom. But in his heart he still loved his own people, the Israelites, who were now poor, hated slaves. Yet they served the Lord God, while the Egyptians worshiped idols and animals. Moses felt a call from God to help the Israelites. When Pharaoh, the ruler of Egypt, heard about his efforts to free them from slavery, he became angry. Moses fled to another country when Pharaoh tried to kill him. There he became a shepherd.

During Joseph’s lifetime, the Egyptians treated the people of Israel kindly. Sometime after Joseph died, a king who cared nothing for Joseph or the Israelites began to rule Egypt. This king said, “Let us rule these Israelites more strictly and make them work hard for Egypt.” He was afraid the Israelites would become too numerous and powerful. He commanded that all the Israelite baby boys be killed.

After Jacob came back to the land of Canaan, his youngest son Benjamin was born. Now Jacob had twelve sons. Of all Jacob’s children, Joseph was his favorite. He loved Joseph because he was Rachel’s child, and because he was the son of his old age. Joseph was also a good boy, faithful and thoughtful. Jacob made Joseph a special coat, a mark of his favor to Joseph. It made his older brothers very jealous.

After Esau discovered that he had lost his blessing, he was very angry. He said, “Soon my father will die, and then I will kill Jacob.” When Rebekah heard this, she said to Jacob, “Leave home and get out of Esau’s sight before it is too late. Perhaps when he no longer sees you, he will forget his anger.”

After Abraham died, God was very kind to Isaac and blessed him. However, Isaac’s wife Rebekah had no children for nineteen years. Isaac prayed earnestly for a child, and God answered his prayer. Twin boys, Esau and Jacob, were born to Isaac and Rebekah. Esau grew up to be a hunter. He was rough and covered with hair. Jacob was quiet and thoughtful. He stayed at home and took care of his father’s flocks. Isaac loved Esau more than Jacob, because he liked the deer meat that Esau brought him. But Rebekah loved Jacob more.

Abram took his wife, Sara, and his tents, sheep, cattle, and servants, and left his home in Ur. His nephew Lot, who also had animals and tents, went with them. They crossed rivers and climbed hills until at last they came into the land of Canaan. This was the land God had told Abram about. They set up their tents and prepared to live there. Every morning, the herdsmen took the livestock out to pasture, but they soon ran into a problem. There was not enough land for all the animals. Abram and Lot would have to separate.

The great flood that God had sent soon became a dim memory in the minds of Noah’s children. Their families continued to grow until there were many people in the world. But the thoughts of their hearts were again becoming evil.