* LESSON
* ACTIVITY
* HANDOUT
* MOSES PLAY
Bible Memory Verse:
“My help comes from the Lord, Maker of heaven and earth.” Psalm 121:2
“Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.” John 1:29
When Moses was a baby his mother him hid among the reeds (long grass that grows in the water) of the Nile River so he would not be killed by the evil Pharaoh. WHO FOUND THE BABY AND RAISED HIM AS HER OWN SON? Pharaoh’s daughter, the princess of Egypt, found him and raised him as her own child in the palace with Moses’ own mother taking care of him. WHY DID MOSES RUN AWAY FROM THE LAND OF EGYPT? (because he had killed an Egyptian) Moses was a shepherd in the land of Midian for forty years. Then God spoke to Moses. HOW DID GOD SPEAK TO MOSES? (burning bush) WHAT DID GOD ASK MOSES TO DO? (return to Egypt and rescue God’s people from Pharaoh) God promised to be with Moses and guide him in everything he did.
Moses and his brother Aaron, went to Egypt and gathered together all the leaders of the Hebrew people. They explained to the leaders that God had sent them to deliver them out of Egypt. The leaders told the other people. And when they heard that the Lord was concerned about them and had seen their misery, they bowed down and worshiped.
Afterward Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said. “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Let my people go, so that they may hold a festival to me in the desert.’”
Pharaoh said, "Who is the Lord that I should obey Him and let Israel go? I do not know the Lord and I will not let Israel go…Moses and Aaron why are you taking the people away from their labor. Get back to your work!”
That same day Pharaoh gave the order that his slave drivers were no longer to supply straw to make bricks. The Hebrew people had to gather their own straw and make just as many bricks as before. Pharaoh said, “They are lazy; that is why they are crying out, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to our God.’ They need more work to do.” When they couldn’t do the work, they were beaten. Then the Hebrew people were mad at Moses and Aaron because they had made Pharaoh angry and now they had to work even harder.
Moses returned to the Lord and said, “Oh, Lord, why have You brought trouble upon the people? Ever since I went to Pharaoh to speak in Your name, he has brought trouble upon this people.”
Then the Lord said to Moses, “Now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh: Because of My mighty hand, he will let them go; because of My mighty hand he will drive them out of his country.”
Moses and Aaron went back to Pharaoh. God sent ten terrible plagues to show the Egyptians His mighty power. :
1. Water turned to blood First God had Moses strike his staff on the Great Nile River and the water turned to blood. Still Pharaoh would not listen.
2. Frogs The Lord said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh and say to him, ‘This is what the Lord says: Let my people go so that they may worship me. If you refuse to let them go, I will plague your whole country with frogs.” God did this to Pharaoh and Pharaoh promised to let the people go, but when Moses prayed for the flies to leave, Pharaoh broke his promise and would not let the people go.
3. Lice or gnats The Lord told Moses to strike the dust of the ground with the staff and lice came from the dust.
4. Flies The Lord sent flies everywhere on the land of the Egyptians, but I not on the Israelites. Pharaoh promised to let the people go if Moses would pray that the flies would go away, but he did not keep his promise.
5. Cattle Disease God sent a cattle disease upon the animals of the Egyptians, but not upon the Israelites.
6. Boils God put boils (sores) upon the Egyptians & their animals.
7. Thunder and Hail God said to Moses, "Tell Pharaoh to let My people go to worship me or at this time tomorrow I will send the worst hailstorm that has ever fallen on Egypt.” The next day the Egyptians who listened to the word of God took their animals and their slaves inside but the Egyptians who did not listen to the word of God left them out in the field. The hailstorm beat down everything in the land of Egypt, but not in the land where the Israelites were. Pharaoh promised to let the people go if Moses would pray for the hail to stop, but he didn’t keep his promise.
8. Locusts God sent locusts (grasshoppers) that destroyed everything that the hail had not destroyed, but Pharaoh would not let God’s people go. Even Pharaoh’s officials wanted him to let the people go, but he would not.
9. Darkness The Lord sent total darkness over the land of Egypt for three days. Pharaoh sent for Moses and said that he would let the people go, but not their animals. When Moses said that they must take their animals, too, Pharaoh got angry and said to Moses, "Get out of my sight! Do not appear before me again! The day you see my face you will die!"
10. Firstborn God said, “I will bring one more plague on Pharaoh and on Egypt. After that, he will let you go from here…About midnight I will go throughout Egypt. Every firstborn son in Egypt will die, from the firstborn son of Pharaoh who sits on the throne, to the firstborn son of the slave girl, who is at her hand mill, and all the firstborn of the cattle as well.”
God gave Moses special instructions for His people so they would be safe:“Each man is to take a lamb for his family–he should take a perfect lamb and kill it in the evening. Take its blood and paint it on the side posts and top posts of your doors. Then go inside and shut your doors. The death angel will pass over you."
That same night they were to roast the meat of the lamb and eat it along with bitter herbs and bread made without yeast.
God’s people believed His promise and followed His instructions exactly. About midnight in every home in Egypt, from Pharaoh’s child to the poorest family in Egypt the first-born child was killed. There was a great cry in Egypt, and there was not a single house where there was someone dead. Just think how much suffering Pharaoh brought on his people because he was stubborn and would not obey God. But the oldest child in every Hebrew home where the blood had been painted was alive and well. God had passed over them because they had obeyed Him.
Jewish people still celebrate the Passover to remember the time when God saved their people from the evil Egyptian Pharaoh.. To Christians, Passover is even more important. Passover was foretelling that Jesus, the Lamb of God, would take away sins. John the Baptist, who came as a messenger to tell the world that Jesus was coming said, “Look the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” John 1:29
God had planned that what happened on Passover would be a foreshadowing of when Jesus would die for the sins of the world.
It was still night when Pharaoh called Moses and said, “Up! Leave my people, you and the Israelites! Go, worship the Lord as you have requested. Take your flocks and herds as you have said, and go…" The Egyptian people also begged them to go. They said they would all be dead if the Hebrew people didn’t leave. They even gave them jewels, clothes and anything they wanted. Then the Hebrew people left Egypt. God had kept His promise to set them free.
God had told the people to leave Egypt in a hurry. They were supposed to make bread that did not have yeast in it os they did not have to wait for it to rise. They were also told to have everything ready to go as soon as God through Moses told them to go. This was because God knew that Pharaoh would change his mind.
After Moses led the Israelites (Hebrew people) left the land of Egypt, God guided them with a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. He took care of His people. The first thing He did was protect them from the evil Pharaoh.
As soon as Pharaoh heard that the Israelites had left, he and his officials said, "What have we done? We have let the Israelites go and lost their services (won’t be our slaves)." Exodus 14:5
Then Pharaoh took 600 of his best chariots (two wheeled wagon drawn by a horse) along with all his army to capture the Israelites and bring them back to Egypt.
When the Israelites saw the Egyptians they were terrified. Pharaoh and his men were on one side and the Red Sea was on the other. They were trapped. They started complaining that Moses had brought them out of Egypt just to be killed. Moses did a wise thing. He prayed to God and asked Him what he should say to the people. God told him what to say to the people and what to do. Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.” Exodus 14:13
God told Moses to raise his staff and stretch out of his hand over the Red Sea. When he did the waters separated. The Israelites crossed over on dry land with a wall of water on their right and a wall of water on their left. When the Egyptians followed them, Moses stretched out his hand over the sea again. The water flowed back and the Egyptian army was drowned. Now they were free to go to the land God had promised Abraham.
“Our help comes from the Lord, maker of heaven and earth.” Psalm 121:2 The people knew that God had delivered them from Egypt and they knew that God was still helping them. We can know that God is helping us, too. Every good and perfect gift, including the air we breathe and the food we eat is from God. Next week we will learn what happened to God’s people, the Israelites, after they left the land of Egypt and before they entered the promised land.
QUESTIONS:
1. Why do we know that Pharaoh did not know God?
2. Why were the Hebrew people angry with Moses when he had come to help them?
3. How many plagues did God send to Egypt?
4. What happened because the Hebrew people obeyed God when He instructed them to put the blood of a lamb on their doorposts?
5. What kind of bread did God ask the Hebrew people to make to take with them when they left Egypt?
6. Who is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world?
7. Why were the Hebrew people supposed to choose a lamb without defect to kill?
8. How did God guide His people after they left the land of Egypt?
9. What was the first thing Moses did when he saw Pharaoh and his men chasing them?
10. What miracle did God do to let the Hebrew people escape?
11. What happened to Pharaoh and his men?
“By day the LORD went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night. 22 Neither the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night left its place in front of the people.” Exodus 13:21-22
Have children follow when you hold up cloud for day and fire for night. In the day they can go faster and at night sometimes lie down. Explain how God guides us today.
MOSES–PART 2
Bible Memory Verse:
“Rescue me, O Lord, from evil men; protect me from men of violence” Psalm 140:1
Words to choose from: LAMB, PRAY, TEN, WORK, DROWNED, GOD, BLOOD, RED SEA, SIN, CLOUD
1. Because Pharaoh did not know and believe __ __ __, he would not let the Israelites go.
2 The Hebrew people were angry with Moses because Pharaoh made them __ __ __ __ harder.
3. God sent __ __ __ plagues upon Egypt.
4. God instructed the Hebrew people to put the __ __ __ __ __ of a lamb on their doorposts.
5. Jesus is the Son of God who died to take away the __ __ __ of the world.
6. The oldest __ __ __ of every Egyptian died because they did not know God and follow His instructions to put blood over the doorposts of their houses.
7. After they left Egypt, God guided His people with a __ __ __ __ __ by day and a pillar of fire by night.
8. The first thing Moses did when he saw Pharaoh and his men chasing them was to __ __ __ __ .
9. God parted the __ __ __ __ __ __ to let the Hebrew people escape.
10. Pharaoh and his men __ __ __ __ __ __ __ in the Red Sea.
Bible Memory Verse:
“My help comes from the Lord, Maker of heaven and earth.” Psalm 121:2
CHARACTERS: Jolly the Giraffe, Polly the Polar Bear, Leo the Lion
JOLLY: (enter) Hi, kids. How are you tonight? (wait for response) I’m feeling great! I got an A on my spelling test today.
POLLY: (enter with head hanging down) Hi, Jolly. Hi, kids. I’m glad you’re feeling great, Jolly. But I don’t feel so good.
JOLLY: What’s wrong, Polly?
POLLY: We might have to move!
JOLLY: Move? You mean from your house?
POLLY: I mean from our house. We don’t have enough money to pay the rent.
JOLLY: That house is just perfect for your family! I don’t think God would want that to happen. Have you prayed about it?
POLLY: Yes, I’ve prayed lots!
JOLLY: I’ll pray, too. And we should get Leo to pray. The Bible says, “The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective,” James 5:16
LEO: (enter) And we are righteous if we believe in Jesus. Hi, everyone!
POLLY: Hi, Leo. Did you hear what we were saying?
LEO: Not really, just “The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective,” James 5:16
POLLY: I’m worried because we might have to move! We don’t have enough money to pay the rent.
LEO: I thought your father had a good job.
POLLY: He lost his job! The company he works for doesn’t have enough work to keep all their workers.
JOLLY: Remember our memory verse: “My help comes from the Lord, Maker of heaven and earth.” Psalm 121:2 Do you believe that, Polly?
POLLY: Yes, but it kind of hard to believe when everything looks so hopeless.
LEO: Maybe God will give your father a new job or give you some money some other way or something. But whatever happens, remember God loves you and wants what is best for you. And He can do anything!
POLLY: You’re right Jolly and Leo. I guess I just have to keep praying and believe God. I believe “My help comes from the Lord, Maker of heaven and earth.” Psalm 121:2
JOLLY: And we’ll pray for you, too.
LEO: We sure will. “The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective,” James 5:16 We are both righteous because we both believe in Jesus and obey Him, so our prayers are powerful and effective. And I bet your family’s are, too.
POLLY: Not really, because my father doesn’t believe in Jesus.
LEO: Then we’ll pray for your father to believe in Jesus!
JOLLY: I can’t wait to see how God will answer our prayers.
POLLY: He’ll have to do it soon, because our rent is due next week.
JOLLY: Well, God can do that. I’ll go ask my family to pray, too. They all believe in Jesus. Bye everyone!
POLLY and LEO: Good-bye, kids!
(Puppets exit)