Welcome to this course called: God's Covenant with People
You have been a good student! You have finished the first course which is called The Beginning of People. Now you are ready for the second course called God's Covenant with People.

In the first course you learned about Adam and Eve, and about the Prophets Noah, Abraham, and Joseph. In this second course you will learn about the Prophets Moses, Aaron, David, Solomon, and others. You will also learn:
1. How God saved the People of Israel from Pharaoh, king of Egypt.
2. How God divided the Red Sea so the People of Israel could leave Egypt.
3. How God gave the People of Israel Ten Commandments at Mount Sinai.
4. How God took the People to Palestine.
Most of the lessons in this course are taken from the Taurat and the Zabur. Remember, the Taurat is the first five books of the Holy Writings from God. These Holy Writings are part of the Bible. The Zabur is found in the centre of the Bible. It contains 150 chapters. Most of these chapters are songs of praise and worship to God.
In the next course we will also study the Injil, which is the Gospel. The Injil is a record of the words and deeds of Jesus the Messiah.

As we study the Taurat and the rest of the Holy Writings from God, we learn that God works with people in history. In fact, the Holy Writings of God are a record of God's work with people and the way people act toward God.

Do each lesson in this course exactly as you did the lessons in Course One. We wish you great success in your study.

Before you do this lesson, read these verses from the Taurat:

Exodus 12:21-42 -- Then Moses summoned all the elders of Israel and said to them, "Go at once and select the animals for your families and slaughter the Passover lamb. 22 Take a bunch of hyssop, dip it into the blood in the basin and put some of the blood on the top and on both sides of the doorframe. Not one of you shall go out the door of his house until morning. 23 When the LORD goes through the land to strike down the Egyptians, he will see the blood on the top and sides of the doorframe and will pass over that doorway, and he will not permit the destroyer to enter your houses and strike you down.

24 "Obey these instructions as a lasting ordinance for you and your descendants. 25 When you enter the land that the LORD will give you as he promised, observe this ceremony. 26 And when your children ask you, 'What does this ceremony mean to you?' 27 then tell them, 'It is the Passover sacrifice to the LORD, who passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt and spared our homes when he struck down the Egyptians.' " Then the people bowed down and worshiped. 28 The Israelites did just what the LORD commanded Moses and Aaron.

29 At midnight the LORD struck down all the firstborn in Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh, who sat on the throne, to the firstborn of the prisoner, who was in the dungeon, and the firstborn of all the livestock as well. 30 Pharaoh and all his officials and all the Egyptians got up during the night, and there was loud wailing in Egypt, for there was not a house without someone dead.

31 During the night Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said, "Up! Leave my people, you and the Israelites! Go, worship the LORD as you have requested. 32 Take your flocks and herds, as you have said, and go. And also bless me."
33 The Egyptians urged the people to hurry and leave the country. "For otherwise," they said, "we will all die!" 34 So the people took their dough before the yeast was added, and carried it on their shoulders in kneading troughs wrapped in clothing. 35 The Israelites did as Moses instructed and asked the Egyptians for articles of silver and gold and for clothing. 36 The LORD had made the Egyptians favorably disposed toward the people, and they gave them what they asked for; so they plundered the Egyptians.

37 The Israelites journeyed from Rameses to Succoth. There were about six hundred thousand men on foot, besides women and children. 38 Many other people went up with them, as well as large droves of livestock, both flocks and herds. 39 With the dough they had brought from Egypt, they baked cakes of unleavened bread. The dough was without yeast because they had been driven out of Egypt and did not have time to prepare food for themselves.

40 Now the length of time the Israelite people lived in Egypt [a] was 430 years. 41 At the end of the 430 years, to the very day, all the LORD's divisions left Egypt. 42 Because the LORD kept vigil that night to bring them out of Egypt, on this night all the Israelites are to keep vigil to honor the LORD for the generations to come.

Now read the lesson and do the test at the end. The lesson explains what you have read in the Taurat.

In the first course you learned that Jacob and his children moved to Egypt to escape the great famine. At first they had a good life in Egypt. They had many children and their numbers increased greatly. Each of Jacob's twelve sons became the father of a tribe. These twelve tribes are called the People of Israel because earlier God had changed Jacob's name to Israel.

God Called the Prophet Moses

After nearly 400 years a new Pharaoh ruled Egypt but he did not know about Joseph. The new Pharaoh made the People of Israel into slaves*. When he saw that they were becoming too strong, he tried to kill all the boy babies (Exodus 1:16).

Moses was born just at that time. His mother did not want him to be killed. She took him to the river and put him in a special basket. Then she left the basket in the tall grass along the river and trusted God to take care of him. The daughter of Pharaoh found Moses when she was bathing in the river and took him to her home. Moses became her own son, and he lived in the house of Pharaoh (Exodus 2:1-10).

When Moses became a man he had to make a big decision. Should he always live with Pharaoh, or should he try to help his own people? He decided to try to help his own people, who were slaves of Pharaoh. But when Pharaoh learned that Moses was helping the people of Israel, Pharaoh became very angry. For this reason Moses became afraid and ran away to the Arabian Desert. He took care of sheep in the desert for 40 years. All these years God was preparing Moses to become a great prophet.

At last God appeared to Moses in a fire at a mountain called Mount Sinai. The fire was in a bush, but the bush was not burned. Moses came near to see, and then God spoke (Exodus 3:1-4). He said, "I am the God of your ancestors*, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob" (Exodus 3:6). Moses was afraid. God told him to go back to Egypt. He told him to lead all the People of Israel out of Egyptian slavery. God told Moses to take the People of Israel to the land of Palestine which God had promised to Abraham many years before.

Pharaoh Refused God's Prophet

The Prophet Moses went to Egypt and told Pharaoh to let the People of Israel go. Pharaoh just refused and laughed. Then God began to punish Pharaoh. He sent ten disasters*; one at a time.

The Ten Disasters

The disasters happened in this order.

1. The water of the Nile River turned to blood.
2. Frogs* filled the houses.
3. Gnats* came and troubled the people so that they could not sleep.
4. Flies filled the houses.
5. The cattle became sick and died.
6. Boils* came on the Egyptians and their animals.
7. A great hail* storm came.
8. Locusts* came and ate all the plants and trees.
9. Darkness covered the land for three days.
10. The first-born child of the Egyptians died.

The People of Israel Left Egypt

After each of the first nine disasters, Pharaoh refused to let the People of Israel go. Finally God said: "Only one more punishment" (Exodus 11:1). God told the People of Israel that they must do something special to be safe during the last disaster.

Leaving Egypt

Each father had to look for a perfect lamb*. The lamb had to be only one year old. It had to be without any spots on its skin, and in perfect health. After the lamb was found, the father had to cut its throat and catch the blood in a basin. With some grass the father put the blood around the sides of the door and above the door of the house. Then as evening came the whole family had to go inside and lock the door. They had to cook the meat of the lamb and eat it.

That night while the people were in their houses eating the lamb, God passed through the whole land of Egypt. If there was no blood around the door of a house, God took away the life of the first-born in that home, and the first-born of the cattle. But if the blood of the lamb was around the door, God passed over that house. No death came to the houses which had. blood around the door (Exodus 12:23).

All this happened quickly. Even in Pharaoh's house the first-born died (Exodus 12:29). For this reason the Egyptians cried in great sorrow and begged the People of Israel to leave. And the People of Israel left Egypt that night in a great hurry (Exodus 12:30-33).

The People of Israel called this event the Passover. That is because death passed over all the houses where blood was around the sides of the door. Even today the People of Israel around the world have a religious feast once at year which they call the Passover. The Passover feast reminds them that God delivered them from death and slavery in Egypt on the night of the tenth plague.

The Passover Was a Sign

Why did the People of Israel need to kill a lamb to be safe? Why did the blood need to be put around the door? Why did God use this way to save them from death and slavery? You will learn the answers to these questions about the Passover in the Injil. But first you will read more about Moses and other prophets.

Here is a list of difficult words in this lesson.
slave                -     person who is forced to work for another
ancestors          -     fathers
disasters           -     big troubles
frogs                -     small jumping animals living in water and on land.
gnats                -     small flies that take blood from people
boils                 -     very bad sores on the body
hail                   -     balls of ice falling from the sky
locusts             -     animals that fly through the air, and when they come to earth they eat the plants
lamb                 -     a young sheep.

Learn this verse. Psalm 106:1: "Give thanks unto the Lord, because he is good; his love is eternal."
NOTICE
Now turn to the question papers in the back of the book and write answers for lesson one. Do the same for each of the other lessons after you have studied them.

Test 1: God's Covenant with People

Here is the test for Lesson 1. Write the letter of the correct answer on the line provided.
1)   The new Pharaoh who did not know Joseph
      a)   made the People of Israel into priests.
      b)   made the People of Israel into slaves.
      c)   made the People of Israel rulers in Egypt.   
___
2)   When Moses was in the desert taking care of sheep,
      a)   God was preparing him to be a soldier.
      b)   God was preparing him to be a great prophet.
      c)   God was preparing him to be Pharaoh.    
___
3)   God sent
      a)   four disasters against the People of Pharaoh.
      b)   nine disasters against the People of Pharaoh.
      c)   ten disasters against the People of Pharaoh.   
___
4)   God told the People of Israel
      a)   to kill a lamb.
      b)   to kill a cow.
      c)   to kill a camel.    
___
5)   God told the People of Israel to put the blood
      a)   on the floor of their houses.
      b)   on the roofs of their houses.
      c)   around the doors of their houses.   
___
Write "True" or "False" after each of the following sentences.
6)   Each of Jacob's twelve sons became the father of a tribe.              ______
7)   Pharaoh tried to kill all the boy babies of the People of Israel.                  ______
8)   The Prophet Moses refused to help the People of Israel.                          ______
9)   Pharaoh let the People of Israel leave Egypt after the first disaster.           ______
10) Death came to the first-born in the houses with blood around the door.   ______

Write your name and address in the box above. Then return this test page and all the others in this book to: