Hi all. Today is sort of an interim lesson. Not an exact story per se…but this month we are learning stories from Leviticus-Ruth. Today bridges the gap between stories and gives a highlight of some of Deuteronomy.
Moses had been leading the people from Egypt, through the wilderness and for 40 years God was leading His people as a cloud by day and a fire by night. The people had disobeyed and didn’t trust God so they had to wait until all the people God took out of Egypt had died, and then only their kids and grandkids would go into the land God had promised them. (And Caleb and Joshua, two men who had honored and obeyed God).
The Israelites (God’s people) had traveled a long way and had had to fight a lot of different people. When they trusted God, they won. When they did things their own way, they did not win. But finally, the time was nearing for God to bring His people into the promised land.
Moses was very old. He reminded the people of all God had told them. He reminded them to love God with all their hearts and souls and strength and minds.
He reminded them that they don’t have to be afraid, because God will always be with them.
He also reminded the people to obey God in all they do.
Moses died in the desert and Joshua was put in charge of all the people. Next time we will begin to learn the stories from the book of Joshua, when God’s people FINALLY get to enter the land He promised them.
Today’s story is from the book of Numbers, in chapters 22-24.
God was leading the Israelites (His chosen people) through the desert to the promised land. But they had disobeyed and not trusted Him, so they had to wander for 40 years!! Until the oldest generation had died and only their kids and grandkids would get to live in the land God promised them.
They had to fight a lot of different people along the way. When the people obeyed God and trusted Him, they won. When the people did not listen to God, they would not win.
The king of a people called the Moabites heard that the Israelites were coming and he knew he would have to fight them. So he sent for Balaam, a prophet (someone who speaks the words of God) to come and curse the Israelites. The king wanted Balaam to use God’s words to say bad things about the Israelites so they would lose the fight. He wanted the Israelites to be bad fighters, or to all get sick or die.
The king’s men went to Balaam but Balaam said God had told him he could only speak the words God gave him. But God didn’t say anything against the Israelites, so Balaam told the king….”I can’t curse them, because God hasn’t cursed them.”
The king didn’t like that answer, so he said “Come to me, Balaam and we can work something out.” (He would pay Balaam a lot of money to say bad things about God’s people!)
Balaam got on his donkey and rode to the king. But God knew Balaam would say whatever the king wanted him to, so as he was traveling, his donkey stopped. Just stopped in the rode. Balaam yelled at his donkey, he even hit his donkey. “Hurry up! Why did you stop?!”
And do you know what happened then? The donkey SAID to Balaam “Why are you hitting me?!”
Balaam answered “Because you won’t move!”
Just then Balaam saw an angel of God. He was blocking the road. The donkey had seen the angel and stopped, but Balaam did not. God did not want Balaam to go to the king and say bad things about the Israelites.
Balaam went anyway, but when he got there, he spoke the words of God and he said that the Israelites would be strong and brave and that they would win. He also said that anyone who went against God’s people would lose. This was a good choice…he said the words of God.
The king did not like these words. He was angry and sent Balaam home. But later, Balaam got the Israelites to marry people God didn’t choose for them and to believe in other gods. This was a bad choice. Balaam didn’t really love God. He obeyed God because he was scared of the angel…not because he loved God. He turned the people away from God, and God had a bad consequence for him. God used his donkey…even a donkey! to speak to Balaam. He was very patient with Balaam and tried to get him to do the right thing, but in the end, he didn’t love God and turned the Israelites to make bad choices and then had to have bad consequences.
Sometimes when we have a Bible story, we can see that the people made a good choice and followed God, but sometimes, we see that the people did not make good choices. The Moabite King made a bad choice in wanting to curse the Israelites and Balaam made bad choices in turning the people away from God.
When the Israelites did fight the Moabites, they won, just like God had said, and the king and Balaam (who had turned the people from God) were both killed.
God had promised the land to His people and as long as they obeyed and trusted Him, they would win. Anyone who opposed God and His people would lose.
For our craft, we cut out and glued donkeys on our paper and then drew the angel and Balaam on the donkey.
Hi all! Today we’ll be learning a few more stories from the book of Numbers (these are found in chapters 17, 20, and 21.)
The Israelites were following God through the desert. God was in a cloud over the tabernacle (church tent) and Moses and his brother Aaron were in charge. But even though God had shown Himself to the people and done some pretty amazing things for them, they still complained and complained and they didn’t trust God to take care of them.
One day, the people disobeyed God and some of them died. Then the people got really mad and yelled at Moses and Aaron and said, “It’s YOUR fault those people died! We don’t think you should be the leaders anymore!” Aaron was the lead priest, who would give sacrifices and pray to God to forgive the people for their sins (bad choices). (It was important that the people listen to Aaron because God had chosen him to stand between the people and God.)
But God told them to bring 12 staffs, one from the leader of each tribe/family, into the tabernacle. The next morning, when Moses went to see the staffs, Aaron’s staff (big stick) had grown some flowers! All the people were amazed and reminded that God would choose who He wanted to lead the people. They put Aaron’s staff back in front to remind everyone not to doubt God’s choosing and to be thankful that He was a forgiving God.
Well, it didn’t take long before the people forgot about God’s goodness and again started complaining. They and traveled a long time and were tired and grumpy. The said “now there’s no water and we’re all going to die and HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO US?!?!?!” God told Moses to go in front of the people and talk to a certain rock and it would give water to the people. Moses didn’t really obey God, he only kind of obeyed and he hit the rock instead of just talking to it. It did give water to all the people, but God wasn’t happy. Moses didn’t believe God that the rock would just give water by talking to it, he thought he would need to hit it. But is anything too hard for God? No! God can do anything! So God told Moses even he wouldn’t get to go into the promised land, only his kids and grandchildren. Again, the people had complained and not obeyed God and yet He still took care of them.
Again, after many years in the desert, the people were still following God around the desert and again, they started to complain. “There’s no food! There’s no water! HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO US?!” God was very frustrated with the people for not trusting Him and He sent snakes to bite the people. It hurt a lot and some of the people died because they didn’t trust God. Moses asked God to forgive the people and God told Moses to make a big snake statue and the anyone who gets bitten by a snake can look at that and get better. If the people believed God and obeyed Him and looked at the snake statue, they got better. If they didn’t obey God, then they died.
Again and again as God led His people through the desert they complained and forgot to trust Him. Sometimes things can seem confusing or hard, but we can trust that God is always taking care of us. Sometimes when we make bad choices, there are bad consequences, but God still forgives us and still loves us. Isn’t that wonderful to know?!
For our craft today, we made a picture of the 3 parts of today’s story:
(water from the rock, aaron’s budding staff and the bronze snake)
(aaron’s budding staff, the bronze snake, water from the rock)
This month we are learning stories from Leviticus-Ruth. Today’s story comes from Numbers 13-14.
Moses and the Israelites had been freed from Egypt and led to Mt Sinai where God established the rules for His people. Then they set out and God was leading them to the promised land, Canaan.
When they got there, God told Moses to send one man from each tribe/family (so 12 men) to go look at the land. They looked for 40 days and came back to the rest of the Israelites.
When they came back they said “It’s BEAUTIFUL! It has great grass and trees and lots of fruit to eat! But….there are big scary people there. They are too big for us. We can’t take over that land and live there…they are too big, they will win.”
That night, the rest of the Israelites got scared too. “WHY did God bring us here just so we could fight these people and die?! WHYYYYYYYYY?” (They were whining again!) What should they do? (They should trust God).
Moses and two of his helpers, Joshua and Caleb got up and reminded the people that God could take care of them and that nothing is too big or too hard for God.
Did the people listen?
No.
And God was so frustrated. He told Moses that all the people who doubted Him and didn’t trust Him would NOT get to see the promised land. God told them that their children and grandchildren would get to live in Canaan…but not them. Everyone except Joshua and Caleb would die and only their children would get to live in the promised land. The grown ups who didn’t trust God would have to wander around the desert for 40 years!
It’s ok to be scared, but we can ALWAYS trust God. If He asks us to do something, even if it seems impossible or scary, we can know that He will make it happen. God was giving His people a beautiful new place to live, but they couldn’t trust Him. And now they would have to wander around the dust and sand desert for 40 years!
We drew some pictures to go along with today’s story. We started by using green to draw grass and a blue river. Then we drew big scary Canaanites and some scared Israelites.
That’s all for today, thanks for joining us. Love to you all!
Today’s story comes from the 1st part of the book of Numbers. This is the 4th book in the Bible and as you can guess…it has a lot of numbers. Moses had to count all the Israelites and they were put in their families and the families were put in a certain order and all told where to live around the tabernacle (the church where God lived).
The Israelites had left Egypt, gone to Mt Sinai where God gave them the rules He wanted them to follow and they stayed there a whole YEAR! One day, the cloud of God moved on and the people moved with Him.
BUT…the people started complaining. Again. “God! Why do we only have this manna (special bread)?! Why can’t we have meat!? We need more food! This isn’t faaaaaaiiiirrrrr!”
(image from the brick testament) thebricktestament.com
They were whining and complaining and God got frustrated. The people had already forgotten how good God had been to them. He saved them from the Egyptians, He provided for them by giving them the bread and water and they were still complaining.
Moses went to God and said “I can’t be in charge of all these people!? They are so unhappy and there’s so many of them!”
So God had 70 guys become Moses’ helpers. They worked in each of the 12 tribes (families) and helped oversee everything. God’s spirit was in the tabernacle and with Moses…and now with these guys too. Just like God’s spirit lives in our hearts when we believe in Him!
Moses said “How can I feed all these people?”
God told Moses He would provide meat for the people. But Moses knew even if they used all the animals they had, it wouldn’t be enough. But God reminded Moses, “Is ANYTHING too hard for God?”
No…of course God can do ANYTHING!!
God gave the people quail…a kind of bird to eat. He was still frustrated with the people for not trusting Him and some of them ate so much they got sick.
Even though the people were whining and doubting God, He still provided leaders for them and meat for them.
God is always faithful, even when we don’t follow Him perfectly. The Israelites had lots of times they didn’t follow God perfectly, but He always keeps His covenant promise with them. Just like we don’t always perfectly follow God, but He keeps His promise to love and save us, not because of our choices, but because it’s HIS choice to love and forgive us.
We’ll see more in Numbers next time. Love to you all!
Hi all! Welcome to August! This month we’ll be learning about some of the next books in the Bible, Leviticus-Ruth.
Today we’ll be doing an overview of the book of the Leviticus. (This will be our only day on Leviticus. Since the purpose of this blog is to introduce little ones to the Bible, a general idea of Leviticus is all we’ll be covering. )
Do you remember Jacob? And his son Joseph? Well Jacob had 12 sons and they became the tribes (or families) of the Israelites. These 12 tribes followed Moses out of Egypt and followed God through the desert to the land He promised them.
One of the families was called the Levites. These were the people who served in the church. God gave Moses, the Levites and all the people some special rules in the book called Leviticus.
The Levites had very special instructions on how to worship God and how to serve in the church. The people also had very special rules for how to follow God.
God chose the Israelites to be His special people, different from everyone else. This is called Holiness. God is Holy. He is set apart from all other things. He is the most special and He is perfect.
God wanted to use these people, the Israelites as a display of His holiness. He wanted to show the world an example of His perfectness (perfection).
Now that God had chosen the Israelites, He wanted them to live perfectly, differently from everyone else. They had to be perfectly clean. If they weren’t clean…like if they were sick or dirty, they had to leave the people for a while, come back, make sacrifices and one of the priests had to say it was ok for them to come back. This was an example of God’s perfection and how only perfect things can be with God.
When we sin (make bad choices), it keeps us from God because He is perfect and we can only be with God is WE are perfect too. The people had to make a sacrifice (like a sheep) to be forgiven and perfect again in God’s eyes.
BUT….nobody is perfect all the time…except Jesus. When Jesus came, He was perfect and He died for us as a sacrifice for all time. We can be clean before God because Jesus died for us.
We are still supposed to be Holy…different from everyone else. We are different because we make choices that make God happy. We are supposed to do the right thing and live in a way that makes other people see God and His holiness.
That is all for today. We’ll start in the book of Numbers tomorrow. Love to you all!
Our story today is from the second half of Exodus.
While the Israelites were in the desert on the way to the promised land, God gave Moses instructions to build a tabernacle, which is kind of like a church. God gave very very specific instructions on how to build it and what to put in it. He was also very specific in how the priests (people who served in the church) were to dress and how they were to worship Him.
The tabernacle was a tent and God’s cloud lived over the tabernacle and was a cloud by day and a fire by night. When God moved, the people moved. When God stayed over the tabernacle, the people stayed.
Later, a tabernacle would be built (in the promised land) and God also says there is a tabernacle in heaven where He lives. When Jesus came though, God no longer had to live in the tabernacle, He could live in each of our hearts.
(For very young kids, this might be a good place to stop).
The tabernacle had 7 important parts or pieces and they each showed a part of the Israelites’ journey and they each showed us something about Jesus.
The tabernacle was a big tent, with only one way in. Just like the Bible tells us that Jesus is the only way to God. “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the father except through Me.” (John 14:6) It was surrounded by a high fence which made a courtyard (or like a big fenced-in yard).
1. The Altar
Right inside the tabernacle courtyard was a place to make sacrifices. God said the people had to kill their best, perfect lamb as a sacrifice. If they did the way He said, then they could be forgiven for their sins. “The law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.” (Hebrews 9:22)
This is like when the angel came and killed all the firstborn boys when they were in Egypt, unless they put the blood of the lambs on their doors.
It also makes us look forward to Jesus, because He would die once and for all for all our sins. No more animal sacrifices, because Jesus would be the perfect lamb.
2. Basin
Next, there was a basin of water. The priests were to wash their hands and feet before going in.
The water reminded them of God leading them through the red sea and providing for them in the desert.
The water represents to us being clean before God. “Let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled [with blood] to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.” (Hebrews 10:22)
3. Lampstand
Next was the lamp stand. It was in the first room of the tabernacle. It was the only light in that room and God told the priests to keep it burning always.
This reminded the Israelites of the fire of God leading them always.
It also tells us about Jesus. He is the light of the world. There are dark, yucky things in the world (satan) who want to keep us from God, but Jesus is the light. He shows us the way to God. “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12) When we believe, the Bible says we are “children of the light.” (Ephesians 5:8)
4. Table
Also in that first room was a table with bread. The priests would bake bread each week and it would stay out a week, then they would eat it in that room. This showed God wanting to be with His people and for them to enjoy good things in His presence.
This reminded the Israelites of the manna God provided for them.
It tells us of Jesus because
A. He loved to eat with others and be with them, getting to know them and love them
B. The Bible says that man can not live just by bread, but that we need the words of God, we need Jesus
C. Jesus, before he died, sat down with his disciples to eat bread and drink wine and He told them that His broken body on the cross would be like the bread and His blood would be like the wine and whenever we get together to eat or drink, we should remember Him and what He has done for us. (Matthew 26:26)
5. The Altar of Incense
This is the last object in the front room. The priests had to burn special spices each morning and evening and leave them burning as a sweet smell to God. It was a sign of the prayers going to God. God wants us to come to Him with our prayers.
This reminded the Israelites of Moses going up the mountain to speak with God on their behalf.
It tells us about Jesus because He is now the one who comes between us and God. He speaks on our behalf and He is certainly sweet to God. God wants to hear from us and Jesus says “And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.” (John 14:13-14)
6. The Holy of Holies
There was a big curtain between the first room and the second, most inside room of the tabernacle. The inside room was called the Holy of Holies. The most special of all places. Only one day each year, only one person (the high priest, the head priest) could go in to the room where God was in the Holy of Holies. The big curtain separated sinful man from the Holy, perfect God. There were very special things the high priest had to do to be in God’s presence, like an extra sacrifice and shielding his eyes.
The Israelites could not see God, were not allowed to see God. Even Moses when he asked to see God on the mountain was not allowed to look right at God. This reminded the Israelites that man used to live in paradise with God, in Eden, before we sinned. Now they were separated from God by their sin.
This place and curtain tell us of Jesus though! When Jesus died on the cross, the curtain in the tabernacle was torn in two….the barrier between God and man was broken! We now had access to the Holy God through Jesus. Just like Jesus’ body was broken, the curtain was broken. Jesus is the high priest who takes us before God and makes us right before Him. “Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body …let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith.” (Hebrews 10:19-22)
The Holy of Holies tells us of heaven too. “For Christ did not enter a man-made sanctuary that was only a copy of the true one; he entered heaven itself, now to appear for us in God’s presence. Nor did he enter heaven to offer himself again and again, the way the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood that is not his own. …But now he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself.” (Hebrews 9:24-26)
Legendary Ark of the Covenant from the Bible
7. The Ark of the Covenant
Inside the Holy of Holies was an ark (not like the boat), more like a box. God told Moses to put in manna, Aaron’s staff and the ten commandments. On top of the ark was a lid called the mercy seat. God lived here.
The bread reminded them of how God took care of them and provided for them in the desert, even when they complained. The staff reminded them of their disobedience to God (making the golden cow) and questioning God. The tablets were a reminder that God had picked the Israelites to be His people. He made the covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob/Israel. He chose to lead these the promised land. God CHOOSES to love us and forgive us. And even still, the people did not keep the commandments well or follow God much of the time.
The reminders of their sin, would also tell us about Jesus. The bread God gave them kept them alive, but “Jesus said to them, ‘I tell you the truth, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. I am the bread of life. Your forefathers ate the manna in the desert, yet they died. But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which a man may eat and not die.’” (John 6:32, 48-50)
Jesus obeyed God’s authority and was the perfect sacrifice for our sins, because He always obeyed God. “But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe.” (Romans 3:20-22)
God lived among the Israelites and they worshiped Him. He led them forward to the promised land as a cloud by day and a fire by night, in His temporary earthly home. Now we know Jesus is seated at the right hand of God in heaven, serving on our behalf as the high priest and we can come to God any time we wish because of Jesus’ sacrifice.
That’s all for today and for July! Join us next time when we start Leviticus-Ruth in August!
So Moses was up on Mt Sinai talking to God for 40 days (40 wake ups!)
And the people got bored with all that waiting. They said “Why is it taking so long?! What are we DOING out here?! Let’s make a new god!”
So Aaron, Moses’ brother told all the people to take their gold jewelry and dishes and they melted it all together and then they made a gold cow. They said “THIS is our God!”
But a gold statue can’t love you, or care for you. A gold statue can’t hear you when you pray. The people made a bad choice.
They put food in front of the gold cow, and they danced and sang songs. They bowed down to the ground and had a fancy party for the cow.
God was NOT happy. He sent Moses back down the mountain to tell the people to STOP IT! Only GOD is the real God. He is the One we pray to and sing songs for and dance for. He is the One who loves us and protects us and leads us.
God was very frustrated, but Moses asked God to please forgive the people.
There were still bad consequences for the people worshipping the cow and not God (some of them died and some more got very very sick). God just told us in the 10 commandments to put Him first and not worship any other thing…and His own people turned around and were doing just that.
It makes God very sad when we disobey or make bad choices. He did forgive the people though and He promised to lead them to the land He had waiting them. Even when we mess up or when God seems confusing or far away, we can trust that He loves us and has good plans for us. We can pray and ask Him to be close to us and to show us where to go next.
One more lesson in Exodus and then we’ll start Leviticus-Ruth in August. Love to you all!
Hi all! We are finishing up this month of July and our stories from Genesis and Exodus. Today we will continue the story with Moses (there will be two more lessons after this and then next month we’ll be covering leviticus-ruth).
Today’s story comes from Exodus 19-23.
After God saved the Israelites (His people) from the Egyptians, He led them through the desert and provided food and water for them. The people arrived at a mountain called Mt Sinai. God told Moses to come up the mountain and He would give Moses the rules the people needed to follow.
God gave the people rules to keep them safe and help them be more like God. What are some of the rules at your house? Your mom and dad (or grandma and grandpa) make rules to keep you safe and help you be nice to other people.
Moses went up the mountain and a big cloud came and God came and spoke to Moses. He gave him 10 commandments (a commandment is something you MUST do, or something you must NOT do. It’s like an official order.)
(We made another flip book to help us remember the 10 commandments…and as always my disclaimer is that i promote child-created art instead of printables or just coloring in a pre-made shape though you could certainly do that if you wanted)
1. God should be first (He’s number one!)
2. Only worship God, not other things (like statues, or people, toys or money)
3. Use God’s name nicely (don’t say God’s name to be mean to someone else, and don’t be disrespectful when you talk about God)
4. Rest one day a week and worship God. Remember to rest like God did and spend one day each week just focusing on Him.
5. Obey your mom and dad
6. Do not kill other people
7. Keep your marriage promises. When grownups get married, they promise to take care of each other and to love each other. They promise to help each other no matter what. God wants people to know how important it is to keep those promises, just like He always keeps His promises to us.
(also, i should mention i used the phrasing “keep your marriage promises” from the jesus calling storybook Bible for this one)
We drew two wedding rings for this one
8. Do not steal (stealing is when you take things that aren’t yours) It’s ok to borrow something from a friend if you plan to give it back, but stealing is when you take it forever or leave a store without paying for the things you took.
9. Do not lie. A lie is when you say something that didn’t really happen. We need to always say what really happened, that’s call the truth.
10. Do not covet. That means wanting things other people have. The Bible says we need to be happy and thankful for all the things God has given us.
After God gave Moses these commandments, He also gave him some other rules. They basically tell us to love God and love others. Those are the two most important things God wants us to do. Love God, Love others.
Moses talked with God for 40 days and 40 nights on the mountain, then he came back down to tell the people all the rules God had given them.
Do you think the people will obey the rules? We’ll see soon!
After Moses and the Israelites (God’s people) escaped from Egypt and the angry Pharaoh (king), they began to wander around the desert toward the land God promised them.
Even though God had JUST saved them and they had seen some pretty cool things, (remember the plagues and the water dividing so they could walk through??) they were already grumpy.
They said “WHY GOD WHY?! WHY WOULD YOU BRING US TO THE DESERT WITH NO FOOD?! WE WERE BETTER OFF BEING MISERABLE IN EGYPT!!!”
God heard the people and even though they should have been thankful, and were instead complying, God still had mercy on them and was kind. He gave them quail (bird meat) to eat each evening and He gave them manna (bread) each morning.
God told Moses to tell the people that bread would fall from heaven and each morning they could collect enough for just that day. If they were greedy and tried to take a bunch or to save it for later, it would just get yucky. God wanted His people to trust Him each and every day. And He was faithful and provided for them each and every day.
Even still, the people got grumpy. They were tired of just eating the quail and manna. At one stop, they were complaining about not having enough water. God again had mercy on His people and told Moses to go to a certain rock and to touch it with his staff (big stick). So Moses went before all the people and water came from the rock. (Nothing is too hard for God!)
(Above: we used two easter eggs and filled them with blue ribbon, but you could use tissue paper, crepe paper or even actual water if you wanted. Then they used their staffs (pipe cleaners) to tap on the rock, opened them up, and revealed the water.)
The people were still unhappy though. God was doing wonderful things for them and through them, but they just couldn’t trust Him and they couldn’t be happy. When God something hard or sad is happening in our lives, God is teaching us and helping us to trust Him more. It can be hard to always trust God, but He is always faithful and He loves us even if we are grumpy. Isn’t that wonderful news?
Next time we’ll see what happens at Mt Sinai. Thanks for joining us. Love to you all!
He Bids Them Come 