On Day 2 of their hike the children will come face to face with Pharaoh as he tell's the story of long ago. Moses used his 'walking stick' for many things including a demonstration to Pharaoh. The heart needs to change....but some will not.

We believe that it is important for our children to know just how the Hebrews were treated and the history of such.  For it is important in many ways for them to understand the Bible especially things like the wilderness, the Power of God, the Faith of the blood upon the door posts, Moses and so much more.

Hebrews labored as slaves in the making of "bricks" out of mud and straw. Such inscriptions are found in the tomb of Rekhmire, who was the vizier of pharaoh Thutmose III in the mid-1400s BC. --Professor Hoffmeier adds, "It is worth noting, that the practice of using forced labor for building projects is only documented for the period 1450 to 1200, the very time most biblical historians place the Israelites in Egypt."
--Thus, it so happens that at the time the Hebrews would have been enslaved, there are actually Egyptian inscriptions to verify the fact.

Step By Step Guide To Mud Brick Making

So here's a brief synopsis of the mud brick making process, use it to spread Pharaoh's glory throughout the land.

  1. Gather dirt and straw.
  2. Cut the straw and add water to the dirt.
  3. Mix until you reach a firm, non-runny, consistency.
  4. Pour the mud into a wooden mould of the brick you will be making.
  5. Remove from the mould and let the brick dry in the sun for a few weeks.
     The     Hebrews were to get their own straw for making the mud-bricks yet still had to produce the same quantity as before. This straw was previously supplied them by the Egyptians so they could concentrate on making bricks only. They thus had to search out materials for themselves and were punished for not meeting their quota.   Below is a scale of how many bricks per day the Hebrews must make.

 

40% 10-100 (You'll feel the whip dog!)

20% 100-1000 (You've earned a ration of grain.)

 40% 1000+ (Ration of grain AND one day's rest!)                                       

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    Mud Mixing - Your Job As A Treader

    As a mud treader it is your job to ensure that the mud has reached a proper consistency for optimum brick making!  Pharaoh doesn't want his cities to be shoddily built afterall!!  You will work long hours under the hot desert sun working straw into the mud with your feet.

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    The Work of a Straw Cutter

    As a straw cutter you will be responsible for slicing and dicing bundles of straw with your mattock. Your fellow slaves will supply the straw, you just have to do the cutting. Ramses likes his straw cut fine, mind you!
                 

    In the mud pits there are a variety of raw materials that need to be transported to and from the pits. The main resources you'll be transporting and collecting are straw, dirt, mud, and bricks. Transportation jobs are the most plentiful and practically anyone with a strong back is eligible.

    • As a straw carrier, you will carry straw from barges on the Nile to the mud pits.
    • Dirt collectors gather dirt from the banks and transport it to the pits.
    • Mud transporters collect processed mud and deliver it to the brick moulders.
    • Brick movers take wet bricks and carry them somewhere to dry. 

      The Work of a Brick Moulder

      Brick molders pour wet mixed mud into wooden moulds. A pleasant task!  Make sure to keep bubbles from forming in the bricks, a porous brick shall not stand the test of time.  Pharaoh likes his images to last.
                                                                   

    This activity allows the children to get a "hands on" experience to how the Hebrews had to make these mud bricks for the Egyptians.

    Materials

    Soil that has approximately 60% Clay and 40% sand Sift the dirt

    Straw

    Water

    Spade

    Wheel Barrow

    Moulds

    It is pretty easy to make a mud brick. All you need to do is get some soil -not the top soil which is usually a darkish brown, but dig down a bit until you get to the sub -

  •  1.soil which is generally lighter in colour. Get some of this, and remove any bits of rock or any sticks.

  •  2.Then mix it with some water to make a pretty stiff mix - similar in consistency to a biscuit mix - not actually runny, but all the soil should be quite wet. Mix it for 10 minutes (in a wheelbarrow) or so until it is all even, then

  • 3.Shovel in into a mould - it could be an ice-cream container with the bottom cut out, or a mould you have made up out of wood,

  • 4.Then put it in the sun to dry. We recommend using the oven to bake them at 300 degrees for 4-5 hours.

  • 5. When it has dried, remove the mould and tilt the brick up and let it fully dry. If the brick cracks when it is drying, you can either slow down the drying by drying it in the shade, or add some chopped up straw and this reduces the cracking as well. If it continues to crack, then it has too much clay and you can add some sand. Basically this is it.

    Mixing Once you have worked out the correct mix of clay and sand put your soil (sand and clay) into a wheelbarrow and mix in some water. Mix with your hands until the mixture is like heavy porridge but not 'sloppy'. You can also mix it in a hole in the ground and 'puddle' on it with bare feet! Add straw cut into small pieces (especially if your soil has a high clay content). HINT: if you have younger children, have them mix small amounts of clay and sand in a bucket or icecream container, add all the mixture to the barrow then mix all together

  • Small loaf pan for a mold is about 16 cents each. They should be metal because you are going to bake them in a oven. This will not hurt your oven, but I do recommend that you try one first before you do this project. Normally if the VBS is 5 days then you can let them dry in the sun.

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