To escape punishment for killing an Egyptian, Moses ran away to Midian, where he met and married the daughter of a shepherd. During that time, the king of Egypt died, and the Israelites called out to God in their suffering. In the past, God had made a covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob concerning the fate of them and their descendants, and the time had come for Him to rescue them. While Moses was tending his father-in-law's sheep, he led the sheep through the desert until they arrived at Mt. Horeb. There, the angel of the Lord appeared to Moses in the form of flames from a bush. The Lord told Moses that He saw the misery that the Israelites were suffering at the hands of the Egyptians, and would come and rescue them. He instructed Moses to go to the Pharaoh, ask that the Israelites be freed, and then lead them out of Egypt and into the land of the Canaanites. When Moses objected that neither Pharaoh nor his own people would support him, God let him know that He knew Pharaoh's heart would harden against Him, so He would show His power to the Egyptians by raining down calamities against them. This display of anger for the Egyptians who refused to follow His will was manifested in ten plagues. God, working through Moses and Aaron, brought misery after misery upon Pharaoh and the Egyptians.
             1. The first plague involved changing the water of the Nile River into blood. Moses warned Pharaoh that unless he let the Israelites go to worship God, the river would turn to blood, the fish would die, the water would stink, and the people would not be able to drink. Even the water stored in jars would turn to blood. Pharaoh disobeyed, and God let loose his wrath. Pharaoh hardened his heart as God had said, and walked back into his palace.
             2. The second plague occurred seven days later. When the Pharaoh refused yet again to obey God, the Lord brought frogs out of the land. They filled the Nile, and every home, bed and oven. Pha...