LETTERS FROM OUR READERS

Which story is true? This one or The Prince of Egypt one? (Faith L., Grand Rapids, Michigan)

Neither is totally true. Each story is based on the book of Exodus, chapters 4–15 in the Old Testament of the Bible. Both our story and the movie The Prince of Egypt are an attempt to show people what it must have been like to live then and experience those amazing and scary events. The Prince of Egypt looks at the events from the eyes of Moses, while Trouble Times Ten looks at the events from the eyes of a child.

The most important part of the story is the real part: about God being the one and only true God. We can trust that God has us in His hands even when everything else seems to tell us the opposite.

I never thought about the plagues that much. Were they really that bad? (Rob D., Sellersville, Pennsylvania)

Yes, they really were that bad. We ran out of room in telling this story, so we couldn’t fully describe what it must have been like. We think the scenes that tell about the gnats and the locusts were probably the most accurate.

I’m glad I didn’t live back then. (Eric A., Atlanta, Georgia)

We’re glad we didn’t either, Eric. Bees who attack picnics in the summer are bad enough.

God seems so mean. He hurt everybody. (Devyn S., Lincoln, Nebraska)

God had to show all of Egypt and all of Israel that He was all-powerful. We think the plagues were meant to show the people of Israel that He was the one calling them out of Egypt —and to show the people of Egypt that He was more powerful than all the gods they worshipped. Moses wasn’t the star of this show. It was God. He wanted to make sure the Israelites knew they had to trust Him completely. There were hard times ahead for the Israelites, and they needed to be sure about God. These plagues taught them that they could trust God.

Throughout the Bible you’ll find passages in which God seems to be mean. Honestly, no one can always understand God. We must trust that God is ultimately good even while He is allowing death and destruction. He is holy and uses everything to teach us, to lead us, and to build strength of character in us. He can be scary, but He can be trusted.

Where was the Red Sea? (Angie I., Canton, Ohio)

There are many opinions about the actual location of the body of water called the Red Sea in Exodus. Was it a lake? Was it part of the present-day Suez Canal? No one is really sure. And frankly, it doesn’t make much difference. It would be best not to get bogged down in minor details and lose sight of what’s really important —God’s hand working among the people of Israel.

I heard there wasn’t really a miracle parting the Red Sea at all. The Israelites just crossed a shallow lake. (John B., Mobile, Alabama)

There have been many suggestions about what happened in Exodus 14. Some believe that it was a natural event every year —the strong winds blew, and the waters would move aside on the lake bed.

Others have suggested, as you did, that the Red Sea was actually a very shallow body of water, and the people waded across.

Even if it happened either of these ways, it was still a miracle. If the dry land appeared naturally in the sea every year, it was still a miracle that it happened at the precise moment the Israelites needed to cross the water. It was also a miracle that the wind ceased or shifted direction at the precise moment when Pharaoh’s army was in the middle of the sea. And it would have been a miracle if an entire army drowned in a shallow body of water, but none of the Israelites did! Also, the Bible account is very clear that the people crossed “on dry land.” It doesn’t say they waded.