From Prince to Prophet

I want to thank my very best friend and husband, Eric Dauber, for his continued encouragement and patience that have helped me to search out the biblical facts to write another book in this amazing series.

I want to also thank my friend and professional illustrator, Mishel McCumber, for her friendship and her faithfulness in creating another dynamic book cover that so clearly depicts the meaning of this book.

And above all, I want to thank the Lord for His love and for inspiring me to write this book, and for teaching me so much about Himself in the process. To Him I give all the praise and all the glory!

Dedication

To everyone who wants to learn about God through the men and women of the Bible who He worked with to fulfill His divine plan.

Table of Contents

Contents

Acknowledgments

Dedication

Table of Contents

Introduction

Power that Flickers

Slavery Strikes Again

A Basket of Joy and Strength

Moses Becomes a Fugitive

From Riches to Rags

From Prince to Shepherd

The Burning Bush

A Talk with God

The Power of Two Brothers

Let the Plagues Begin!

Plague #2: Frogs

Plague #3 and #4: Lice and Flies

Plague #5: Cattle and Livestock Die

Plague #6: Blistering Boils

Plague #7: Earth Shattering Hail Stones

Plague #8: Deadly Locusts

Plague #9: Absolute Darkness

Plague #10: The Curse of Death

The Great Passover

God Divides the Red Sea

God Saves His People

Bread from Heaven

Law and Order

A Visit with God

The Ten Commandments

Humble People Make the Best Leaders

The Laws of God

The Ten Plagues of Egypt

A Humble Heart

Introduction

The Bible is filled with stories of amazing men and women who loved God and who gave their lives to lead, guide and sustain the Jewish nation. Some played major roles and others minor roles, but each one was dynamic in their part of God's plan. And there is one man who literally changed the world for God!

This man is Moses! Most of us know him as the one to whom God gave the Ten Commandments. But God also gave him responsibilities, authorities and privileges that few men have ever been given.

Moses was raised as royalty, educated to the highest standards, honored as a heroic soldier and elected to be heir to Pharaoh's throne. But God took Moses away from it all and put him in the wilderness where He prepared him for the greatest task of leadership this world has ever known. History is amazing because it teaches us what happened in the past that got us to where we are today. And Moses played a major role in the history of the Jewish nation, and every person who loves the Lord knows that Moses was part of God's divine plan for salvation!

We learned in the previous book, From Slave to Hero, how God worked with Joseph to bring his family through the famine and give them a new temporary home in Goshen, which is in Egypt. God raised Joseph up to become a powerful ruler; yet, this power never changed him because His love for God grew more each day. He sustained his family—the beginning of the Jewish nation—and they grew in number to become a large nation.

But things changed over the years! When Joseph and the Pharaoh who loved him both died, the new Pharaohs that followed went back to hating the children of Jacob, who is also called Israel. And so they were enslaved for almost 400 years, at which time they were in danger of all being killed off so that there would be no more Israel.

But God's timing is perfect! Moses was born and chosen by God to save the Israelite people. His job was hard, but he loved God and was obedient to Him. We can see the relationship that Moses shared with God and the power that God demonstrated to the people through him.

This book touches on the highlights of the life of Moses, yet there is so much more in the Bible—details that will help you to see how God worked through this man to save the children He loved. I hope that this book will inspire you to dig into the Bible and learn everything about Moses. This will help you to better understand the history of the Jewish nation and the love that God has for them and for all those who love Him and are part of His family.

This series is for readers of all ages who want to know God and understand His love for us. Each book focuses on a specific character, and each has an underlying message for the reader. Like the other books in The Crown Series, this book is being read by Grandpa to his grandson who is filled with the questions we all want to ask.

I pray that this book will be a blessing to you.

…Ronnie Dauber

Chapter 1

Power that Flickers

The lightning crackled in the sky and lit up the living room with its sharp flickering bursts of light. The pictures on the wall danced in the flashes that pulsated at them like a strobe light. Lucas tried to play his game, but the pounding thunder that followed sent shivers up his back and he ran to the kitchen to get Grandpa.

It's really scary in there, Grandpa. Why don't you ask Nana if you can drink your tea in there and read your book so I don’t have to be alone?

Grandpa closed his book and nodded his head. I guess I can do that. Come on; let's go read in the living room. As Grandpa got comfortable on his fluffy couch, Lucas mentioned that he didn't need to read the book to him; he just wanted Grandpa to read it in the same room so that he didn't have to be alone. The storm's kind of creepy and I could play my game better if I wasn't alone in here.

Sure, that's great with me, Lucas. You play your game then, and I'll read this new book. Just as Grandpa was about to sip his tea, the phone rang and it was a friend calling for Lucas. Lucas talked for a minute and then snapped at his friend and hung up.

What was that all about, Lucas?

My friend wants me to help him with his batting swing. But that's not my job.

Well, it might not be your job, but you could help him as a friend.

Grandpa, I'm the captain of the team so that makes me important, but if they want to learn how to swing better, then that's the coach's job.

Oh, really?

Grandpa, I got to be captain because I'm a good player. But that doesn't mean I have to teach everyone else how to play. They are supposed to be looking up to me, not asking me for help.

Yeah, but you…

I'm not being mean, Grandpa, and I know you think it's selfish, but I earned this. And at the games everyone knows that I'm the captain, but we're not at a game, so it's their problem.

Oh, I see. So, you have this position as captain and you think that everyone should honor you and respect you for it because you're this great leader, but it's not your place to work with anyone to help them or the team. It's the coach's problem, right?

Yep!

So, you've been given this position as leader, but you want people to just look up to you and not expect you to do anything?

Well, Grandpa, it's not like I'm being mean. It's just that I made it. I'm the captain of the team and that means that the rest of the guys on the team have to do what I say. And everyone knows that our team is my team 'cause I'm the captain. Do you understand, Grandpa? I'm a leader of the team and they have to follow me, but I don't have to help them be better players. I got this award and I think I deserve it.

Aw, I see. And you want everyone to recognize you as being the leader, and you feel that for this season, while you're captain, that you're better than them?

Well yeah because the coach wouldn't have made me captain if I wasn't special. That's pretty cool, don't you think, Grandpa? Me, the captain!

Just then, the lightning flashed again and the power went out. Lucas complained about being in the dark, but Grandpa told him to wait a second and they'd have light again. Here comes Nana with the lighter. We'll light these candles and make this room bright again. There we go.

Grandpa, do you think the power went out at the wedding where my parents are?

No, I don't think so. This is a local storm and will pass in a while. Your parents are far enough away from it that I think they'll still have the good weather.

Oh. So what do I do now? It'll be boring just sitting here. I should have brought my special baseball cap that says captain on it. You'd be proud of me for being the captain.

Grandpa snickered and said, Lucas, I'm proud of you regardless. But, I'm beginning to think that we're having this storm for a reason. Now, if you don't want to be alone you're going to have to listen to me read this book out loud.

What? Well, okay. What's the book called?

"It's called From Prince to Prophet and it's all about Moses. You know who Moses is?"

Sure, Grandpa. I learned about him in Sunday school. He was born in a basket and then because he didn't die, he got strong and God gave him the Ten Commandments that we have to obey. And I think he had a magic wand that he hit on the water and the sea split in half so he could get to the other side without getting wet.

That's it?

Yeah! I know more about him than my friends do. It's a good thing I go to Sunday school, Grandpa, or else I'd be kind of, you know, stupid like them and not know anything.

I see. Well, I think it's a good thing that we have this book and it's interesting that we don't have any power! There's a lot you need to learn and the first thing is this: Moses was humble. You know what that means, Lucas? It means that even though God gave him great power, Moses never once thought he was better than anyone else. He always remembered that the power belonged to God and that God just let him use it to help others.

Grandpa invited Lucas to sit beside him on the couch and then he opened the book. Yep, we're going to learn a lot in this book about getting blessings, receiving power and authority and about being a good leader. And we're going to learn how to be thankful and mindful of what God gives us and not get prideful.

Oh, good! I can maybe tell my one friend about this because he thinks he knows everything.

Grandpa snickered as he opened to the first page. "Yep, this book is just what we need today. Okay, the first chapter is the background that we need to know. The last book we read was called From Slave to Hero. Do you remember that?"

Yeah, I liked that story.

Good. It was about how Joseph brought his family into Egypt to save them from the great famine.

Joseph was awesome, Grandpa!

He was. And now this story of Moses comes after that one. It begins many years after Joseph died, and Jacob's family has gotten really big and there's a new Pharaoh ruling. Things have really changed and now all of Jacob's family is going to get killed unless God does something to save them. And this is why we have Moses. Let's read.

They're going to get killed? How?

Well, let's go to chapter one and find out.

Chapter 2

Slavery Strikes Again

The children of Jacob had initially been brought to Egypt by Joseph when he was Governor over the land at the time when a great famine struck. Joseph had been brought to Egypt years earlier when his brothers sold him as a slave. He had imprisoned in the horrible dungeon for many years, and then when he was able to interpret Pharaoh's dream, this king found favor with Joseph and made him to be the Governor over all the land. And so when his brothers came to him, not knowing that he was Joseph their brother, to ask for grain because they were starving, Joseph told them who he was and his family came together. Then, with Pharaoh's permission, Joseph was able to bring his father and his brothers and their families to a land in Egypt.

Pharaoh loved Joseph and treated him with great respect, and in turn, Joseph blessed Pharaoh and honored him. He had devised a plan that not only allowed Egypt to survive the famine, but that prospered Pharaoh so that he became the richest king in the world. Jacob's family also flourished in the land of Goshen that Pharaoh had given to them. And for the next many years while Pharaoh and Joseph the Governor ruled the land, the family of Jacob grew in number and were considered to be people equal with the people of Egypt.

It was the custom of the Egyptian leaders and of the people to hate the children of Israel, and so they were always looked down on and treated as the lowest form of humanity by every Egyptian leader, soldier and citizen. But Joseph had shown the Pharaoh of his day that God was great, to be honored and respected and that the children of Israel were honorable people. And so Pharaoh saw the Israelite people as being wonderful and caring people who were hard workers and who did all they could to please him.

But when both Joseph and this Pharaoh died, things change dramatically for Jacob's family, who we know as the Israelites. The Pharaohs who reigned after this Pharaoh were not like him at all and they quickly fell back into their evil ways. As new generations of Egyptians were born, the name of Joseph was shared less and less until he was forgotten