|
A Tale Of Bricks and Blights
By Judy Gibbs © 2012
The Jews were slaves in Egypt three thousand years ago
God sent Moses to talk to the Pharaoh
My people want to celebrate the offering of a lamb
This is a special holiday for every woman and man
Let us go into the wilderness
It takes three days to do
This is really very special for each and every Jew
The lord our God of Israel sends this message to you, Pharaoh,
Let the people have their feast
LET MY PEOPLE GO
The Pharaoh said they could not go, the straw he took away
They had to make the bricks without much to their dismay
Moses to the Pharaoh went to ask him one more time
Let our people have their feast or there will be a sign
The Pharaoh refused and God had his say
A plague of bloody water filled Egypt's waterway
Ten plagues in all descended on the Egyptians and the Pharaoh
Frogs, gnats and flies came scaring them to the marrow
The fifth, sixth, and seventh plagues
The cattle got a disease
Boils on the Egyptians' flesh
And hail which did not cease
The eighth plague brought the locusts which destroyed what crops remained
Moses, said the Pharaoh, You can go out on the plain
Just stop this plague, I'll let you go
My people are going insane
But when each plague was over, the Pharaoh changed his mind
The Jews were not one step further
They were in the same old bind
The ninth plague was a darkness lasting three days and three nights
You would think the Pharaoh had enough of all these dreadful blights
But now the tenth was near, the last and worst of all
The Angel of Death was coming
This would make the Pharaoh fall
At home, the Israelites had their feast
Then made ready for the day
They marked their doors with the blood of a lamb
To show the Lord the way
At midnight the Lord struck
The first-born of all Egyptians died
The Jews gathered their belongings while they heard the mournful cry
The Jews departed quickly
Out of Egypt they did run
And with the dough they had brought
They made matzoh in the sun
God led them by a pillar of cloud, a pillar of fire by night
They made it to the Sea of Reeds
The soldiers following for a fight
The Jews were needed back in Egypt
The Pharaoh demanding their slavery
So Moses stretched out his hand and parted that Reed Sea
They fled across the dry ground reaching the other side
But the Pharaoh's men were in pursuit
There was nowhere for the Jews to hide
Then the chariots and horsemen
In the mud they stuck fast
Their lives all ended on that day as the waves came rushing past
The Israelites were saved
Moses led them on again
To the land of milk and honey
The promised land, Canaan
~~~~~~~
from the April 2012 Edition of the Jewish Magazine
Material and Opinions in all Jewish Magazine articles are the sole responsibility of the author; the Jewish Magazine accepts no liability for material used.
|
