tabernacle

The Ark Moves

~ hebidsthemcome ~ Leave a comment

Hello all! Yesterday we did “Samuel hears God” found HERE. Today’s story is from 1 Samuel 4-7.

The Israelites were living in the promised land (the land God had promised to them). They had a tabernacle (like a church) where they would worship God. Inside the tabernacle, there was a big curtain and behind the big curtain was the Holy of Holies–the special place where God’s Spirit lived and where the chief priest only went one time a year to be with God. There was a box in this special place called an ark. (Not a boat, like Noah’s ark–this was a box). It was called the ark of the covenant. A covenant is like a promise. God had made a promise to always be with His people and to always love them. (He promises us that too!)

This box had a lot of special rules. Only the Levites (the people in charge of the church) could touch it and only in a special way. It was supposed to stay in the tabernacle and stay covered behind the big curtain. If they had to move it, it was supposed to be covered with three blankets so the people couldn’t see it. (The Bible says we can’t look at God because He is so bright and amazing!) God even told Moses EXACTLY how it was supposed to be built. Inside the box they put the rules God gave Moses for the people to obey, they also put Aaron’s staff (his special stick) and they put some manna (that special bread God gave His people). God’s Spirit, His power was over the box. God was very specific in how He wanted it to look and how the people should treat it. They should be very careful and very worshipful. (Because it wasn’t “just” a box–it was God’s Spirit and power.)

 

Samuel was a grown up now and Eli the priest was now a grandpa. He had two boys who were grown ups too. One day, the Israelites went to fight the Philistines and they decided to take the ark of the covenant with them so they could win. (They did not ask God is they could). They fought and fought…but they lost and the Philistines TOOK the ark with them!

Eli’s two sons died during the fight and when Eli heard they died AND that the special box was gone, he fell over in his chair, bonked his head and he died too.

The Philistines took the special box (the ark) to one of their cities and put it next to one of their pretend gods. The next day, they found the pretend god statue face down on the ground in front of the ark (like it was worshipping the REAL God). They put the statue back up and the next day they found it again on the ground, like it was worshipping God, but this time the statue’s head and hands were broken off. The people in that city were scared and then they got very very sick and they decided to move the ark. “That God must not like us having His ark, we should move it!”

So they moved it to a different Philistine city. And all the people in THAT city got sick. They moved it AGAIN and those people got sick too! So they decided maybe they should just send it back to Israel!

They put the ark on a special truck and had two cows pull it. The cows brought the ark back to Israel. When it got to Israel, the Levites (the people in charge of the church who were allowed to touch the ark) carefully took it off the truck. Some of the Israelites didn’t obey God’s rules though and they peeked into the box and then they died.

Then they took the ark to a man’s house. His name was Abinadab. Abinadab loved and obeyed God. His son was put in charge of watching the ark and taking care of it. And it stayed at his house a looooong time. It SHOULD have gone back to the tabernacle…but it didn’t for a long long time.

 

The people did not take care of God’s special box. They did not respect God’s power or His instructions. The people in this story did not ask God if they could take the box from the tabernacle, the Philistines didn’t care about moving the box away from God’s people…the Israelites didn’t obey God and they looked inside…everyone thought God’s power was something THEY could move around. But no one is bigger, stronger, or smarter than God.

God is WONDERFUL and PERFECT and POWERFUL, He can be everywhere at all times and He is bigger than everything and He loves us and takes care of us….isn’t that amazing?! That’s why we worship Him! We love Him and pray to Him, we trust only Him…but the people in this story did not. They thought they could do whatever they wanted with God’s things…instead of respecting God and asking HIM what they should do.

God tells us what He wants us to know in the Bible–we can read His words and know what He wants. When God tells us to do something (or to not do something) we should always obey because we know God’s way is the BEST way.

 

For our craft today, we drew the ark of the covenant. (Instructions from Exodus 25). This is my 5 year olds’ interpretation of what it looked like.

Thanks for joining us again. Love to you all!

 

Hannah Prays

~ hebidsthemcome ~ Leave a comment

Hello all! Today’s lesson is from 1 Samuel 1-2. Last year’s lesson and craft can be found HERE.

During the time of the judges, there lived a woman named Hannah. She was married but she didn’t have any children. More than ANYTHING she wanted to be a mommy. She prayed and prayed and waited and waited…but no baby.

Hannah’s husband loved her very much and wanted her to be happy. But there was another mommy who DID have kids who was very mean to Hannah and said “Ha ha! I have kids and you don’t!”

Sometimes the things people say to us make us feel very bad. These words made Hannah feel worse too.

Each year, Hannah and her husband would travel across Israel to go to the tabernacle (the church) to pray and give their gifts and sacrifices to God.

One year, after a long time praying and waiting, Hannah was so upset, she went outside and prayed. She talked to God and said, “If You will give me a baby, I promise I will teach him about you, and he will serve You his whole life!”

She prayed and cried so much that Eli, the chief priest (the lead caretaker of the tabernacle) came out and said, “Why you are acting so crazy? Have you done something bad?”

“No! I haven’t done anything bad,” answered Hannah. “I was just praying!”

Then God told Eli to say, “May God give you what you have asked of Him.”

Hannah believed the words of God..that she would be given a baby and when she went home, God gave her a baby in her belly! She had a baby boy and named him Samuel. When Samuel was big enough, Hannah taught him all about God, and how God had listened to her and what a wonderful God He is. When Samuel got even a little bigger, Hannah took him back to the tabernacle so he could live with Eli and learn how to serve God.

Hannah promised to raise her baby to love God and to serve in the tabernacle. If God had given her a baby before then, she might not have taken him to the tabernacle to serve God…but God had big plans for Samuel.

God’s plan and His timing is always right. We know God hears us when we pray…but that doesn’t mean we can ask God for everything we want and we will get it right away. Sometimes God says yes, sometimes He says no, and sometimes He has us wait.

Waiting can be hard…but God has a good plan. We can always trust His plan, even if things don’t go our way (like Hannah did). She was a good mommy to teach Samuel about God and she was good woman to trust God, even when it was hard.

 

For our craft today, we just used watercolors to illustrate any part of the story they wanted to.

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“Hannah and the lady that was mean to her”
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“Hannah with a baby in her belly and a polka dot dress”

 

Thanks for joining us again. Love to you all!

The Cloud and Fire

~ hebidsthemcome ~ Leave a comment

Hello again. Today we reviewed the tabernacle (from Exodus 24-39). Last year’s lesson (AND A LOT MORE DETAIL) can be found HERE. We also learned about the pillars of cloud and fire (Exodus 13:21-22)

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God’s people, the Israelites were living in the desert while they followed God to the land He had promised them.

God showed the people He was with them by leading with a cloud. During the day it was a cloud, at night it was fire. If the cloud stayed, the Israelites stayed. If the cloud moved, the Israelites moved.

God told Moses to build a tabernacle (like a church). He gave Moses all the instructions and was very clear about what the church should be like. Since they moved around a lot, the tabernacle was really a big tent.

The church had a place where the people could make their sacrifices to God–to show Him they were sorry for their sins and/or to give God gifts.

It also had a place to worship God and then it had a special room called the Holy of Holies or the Most Holy Place. Only one person one time a year could go into that special place and that’s because God’s spirit was there. The chief priest was the only person and he only went in one time a year to talk with God. He would talk to God for the people and ask God to forgive their sins. God was WITH His people the whole time they were in the desert.

When Jesus died on the cross, the big curtain that separated God’s spirit (in the Holy of Holies) from the rest of the tabernacle was torn in two pieces and it showed us that we were no longer apart from God. Because of Jesus we can have God’s spirit in our hearts and we can talk to Him anytime we want!

Later, instead of a tent tabernacle, God’s people would build a “real” temple (church) for God. But one day we will worship God in heaven! And the Bible says that Jesus is like the chief priest now…serving God and talking to Him for us. (Heb 4:14-16)

God is aways taking care of us. He took care of the Israelites and led them with the cloud and the fire. He gave them shade in the day and warm fire at night. He was close to them and stayed right with them.

God leads us too–He uses His words in the Bible and in our hearts to lead us. He keeps us safe and stays close to us. God is always with you–loving you.

We found THIS cute craft posted by Ginri Jordan based on the Bogard Press 2013 VBS “Mighty God.”
THIS is a cute video from SabbathSchool that goes along with today’s lesson.

Thanks for joining us, love to you all!

The Holy of Holies

~ hebidsthemcome ~ Leave a comment

Hi again! Today’s lesson is from Hebrews 9 and 10.

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**As I typed this out, I realized it might be a bit advanced, so here is the super abbreviated version and below you’ll find the elongated version for sightly older kids.

Back when Moses was leading God’s people, God gave them some rules about church. There was a special room where God’s Spirit was and only the priest in charge could go in there and he only did that one time each year. When we sins, we are supposed to have to die forever, but the priest would kill and give God an animal (called a sacrifice) and ask God to forgive all the people for their bad choices (called sin).

But God knew there was a better way to forgive the people once and for all. So He sent His son Jesus. Jesus was perfect and He died for us. No more killing animals and when we believe in Jesus, we don’t have to die forever, instead we can live forever in heaven. Jesus became the sacrifice and He is now the priest in charge. He talks to God and asks Him to forgive our sins. When Jesus died, God said, “no more animal sacrifices, Jesus has died once and for all for ALL people and if you believe in Him, I will forgive you.” And now, instead of having to go to a special place one time a year, God’s Spirit lives in our hearts. The Bible says our bodies are a temple (because God’s Spirit used to live in the temple and now He lives in our hearts!)

 

***Longer, more detailed version:

In Hebrews, God reminds us that before Jesus came to earth, God set up rules with His people. (Moses and the Israelites in the desert). They had special rules for how and where to worship God. There was a main room for people to worship God and then, behind a giant curtain, was a room called the Most Holy Place (The Holy of Holies) which had the ark of the covenant, and God’s Spirit lived there.

The priests worked in the temple (church),  but only the high priest (the one in charge) entered the Holy of Holies, and he only did that once a year. When the High Priest did go in that very special room, he never went without first making a sacrifice (killing one of the animals God told him to). Then he asked God to forgive the sins the people had committed. God’s Spirit lived in the Holy of Holies, in that special room and so only one time a year the High Priest would get to really be with God.

It was a very special job that had to be done *just right.*

But God had another plan…a way for EVERYONE to be close to Him. The gifts and animals sacrifices being offered to God then did not really do anything to fix peoples’ hearts forever. But God was showing the people that it would take a LOT for their sin to be forgiven. The animals the people had to kill were very important to them. They would eat or sell those animals (it was the most important thing they had)…when they sacrificed them to God it was like saying “I need YOU God, more than my animals. (Like we would say ‘I need YOU God more than my house, my money or all my toys.’)
But if you remember from last time, Jesus is the new High Priest and He did not go into the Holy of Holies because He sacrificed an animal. Do you know what Jesus sacrificed? HIMSELF! God says “the blood of goats and bulls sprinkled on those who are unclean sanctify them so that they are clean on the outside. How much more, then, will the blood of Jesus, who was perfect, cleanse the sin from our inside (our hearts) so that we may serve the living God!” They used to sacrifice their best goat or bull but goats and bulls are not perfect, so it would never make the people perfectly “clean” in God’s eyes. But Jesus WAS  and IS perfect and He makes us right with God. When God looks at us, He doesn’t see our sin, He sees His perfect son, Jesus.

Jesus was the new sacrifice. He was perfect and God had said that without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness. That is why Jesus had to shed His blood for us so we could be forgiven. (He could have said “no” and we wouldn’t be forgiven by God…but He did! THANK YOU JESUS!)

Jesus did not enter the sanctuary made by people, (that was only a copy of the true one in heaven); He entered heaven itself, and He is now with God to ask for OUR forgiveness!

And the best part is,  He doesn’t have to keep dying and going to heaven to offer himself again and again, like how the high priest went into the Most Holy Place every year to ask for forgiveness.

But Jesus came once, died once, and He did away with sin at once by the sacrifice of Himself. And the next time He comes back, will be to take us all to heaven with Him!

Today we don’t have to kill animals anymore for God to forgive us, “And where these have been forgiven, sacrifice for sin is no longer necessary.” Jesus died for us. And when Jesus died on the cross, the big curtain ripped in half, from the top to the bottom (like from God to us) saying “It is finished. Come here to Me!” The Holy of Holies was now open, God’s Spirit could come to all the people who love Him and we can be perfectly forgiven because of Jesus. The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 6 that our bodies are now the temple of God. He used to live in the Holy of Holies and now He lives in our hearts.

 

 

Thanks for joining us, love to you all!

The Tabernacle

~ hebidsthemcome ~ Leave a comment

Hey all!

Our story today is from the second half of Exodus.

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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).

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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.

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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)

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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)

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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)

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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)

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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
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!

Love to you all!