Quails and Manna

Central Truth: God cares for his people and provides for their needs.

Scriptures: Exodus 15:22-27; 16

After they crossed the Red Sea, the Israelites continued into the Sinai Peninsula. As they traveled into the wilderness of Shur they only found water that was so bitter they could not drink it. The people complained and murmured against Moses. God told Moses to cast a tree into the water, and the water became sweet. God made a covenant with the people, promising to protect them from the diseases he brought upon the Egyptians if they obeyed him.

When they traveled into the wilderness of Sin, they became hungry and again complained and murmured against Moses. They told Moses and Aaron that they should have stayed in Egypt where they had plenty of food. God saw their needs and sent quails in the evening and rain bread from heavin in the mornings. Each morning the people gathered a daily portion for each person in their household. They were to gather enough for one day. Any bread remaining would spoil the next day. On the sixth day, they were to gather twice as much because the people were to observe the sabbath day. Miraculously, the extra portion did not spoil overnight and no bread was to be found on the seventh day. God instructed Moses and Aaron to put a measure of manna in a pot and to keep it as a memorial for future generations.

A measure of manna ready to be placed into the Ark of the Covenant.

As we talked about the manna, the children got to try some honey crackers that simulated what the manna may have tasted like. I found the recipe on Pinterest along with several others that will be fun to try.

Interactive Display

To help the story to come alive for the children, I put together an interactive display for the story of Moses. Each week, something new is either revealed or added or taken away.  

This week's lesson took the children on a journey from the Red Sea through the wilderness. We pointed out all of the major geographic features prominent within our story and marked with the assumed location of Marah (#6 on the map) where God made the bitter waters sweet by having Moses throw a tree into the water. 

Interactive map of Egypt and the Sinai Peninsula.

Over the last few weeks, we have been watching segments the Ten Commandments, which can be found on YouTube. 

Crossing the Red Sea

Central Truth: The Lord will always triumph gloriously.

Scriptures: Exodus 12:37-51; 13:17-22; 14

After the tenth plague, the death of the firstborn, there was a great cry in the land for there was not a house where there was not one dead. The Egyptians wanted the Israelites to leave. Pharaoh told Moses and Aaron to take the Israelites with their flocks and herds and go. Before they left, the Egyptians gave the Israelites silver, gold, and clothing. When the Israelites left, they left with great wealth.

Exodus 3:8 coloring page.

They started their journey from the land of Goshen with a stop at Ramses. About 600,000 men with their families left Succoth, moving towards the Red Sea. Again, Pharaoh's heart hardened. He pursued after the Israelites and cornered them at the Red Sea. There was no escape, but God performed a great miracle. God parted the waters of the Red Sea and the Israelites escaped across on dry land. When the Egyptian army followed, God released the waters and drowned the pursuing army.

Interactive Display

To help the story to come alive for the children, I put together an interactive display for the story of Moses. Each week, something new is either revealed or added or taken away. This week we added a diorama of the Red Sea using cute little paper people I found on My Little House.

The First Passover

Homemade unleavened bread.

Central Truth: God always makes a way of escape.

Scriptures: Exodus 7:14-25; 8-12:1-36 

After enduring nine plagues, Moses announced that a final plague will hit Egypt. At midnight, the Lord will go out into the midst of Egypt. All of the firstborn sons in the land will die, from the firstborn of the pharaoh to the firstborn of the animals. In God's mercy, the Israelites were able to escape the plague by dipping hyssop in blood and smearing the blood upon the doorposts of their houses. Those within the house will escape the destroyer as long as they stayed inside until morning.

During the night, the Israelites had the first Passover meal. They roasted a lamb without spot or blemish and ate it along with bitter herbs. They removed all of the leaven in their homes and at unleavened bread that night and for seven more days known as the Feast of Unleavened Bread. They were to prepare the food and be ready to leave in haste with their staff in hand. 

Interactive Display

To help the story to come alive for the children, I put together an interactive display for the story of Moses. Each week something new is either revealed or added or taken away. This week we marked on the map the last plague and the location of the first Passover (marked with the number 5).

Getting ready to leave Egypt!

For the first time, we got to remove an item from the display to make room for next week's lesson. What is Passover? is a booklet that highlights the events that led to the first Passover, beginning with the story of Joseph and ending with the first Passover. The booklet can be found free online by the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews.

Finally, we uncovered the last flap on the plagues flapbook, the plague of the death of the firstborn sons and animals.

The Ten Plagues flapbook.

The Plagues of Egypt

Moses and Aaron meet with the pharaoh (image from freebibleimages.org).

Central Truth: God will fight for his people and fulfill his promises.

Scriptures: Exodus 7:14-25; 8-10

To prove to the pharaoh and the Egyptians that the God of Israel was greater than the gods of Egypt, Moses and Aaron demonstrated God's power with ten plagues upon the people and the land of Egypt. With each plague, God showed his power and defeated the Egyptian gods. 

Interactive Display

To help the story to come alive for the children, I put together an interactive display for the story of Moses. Each week, something new is either revealed or added or taken away. Today, we revealed the nine of the plagues of Egypt.

The Ten Plagues flapbook (from Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus).

We also marked on the map where the plagues occurred in Egypt (marked with #3 and #4 on the map below).

Life of Moses map.

During freetime, the children enjoyed some wonderful handouts and visuals about the plagues of Egypt that can be found at http://www.biblepathwayadventures.com/ and http://homeschooling.about.com/od/holidays/ss/passoverprint.htm.

Moses Meets with Pharaoh

Image from freebibleimages.org

Central Truth: Be patient and wait on the Lord.

Scriptures: Exodus 5, 7:1-13

After God spoke to Moses, Aaron met Moses in the mountains and together they returned to Egypt. They gathered the elders of the children of Israel and told them of how God appeared to Moses and did all the signs that God commanded him to do. The people believed and worshiped God. Moses and Aaron then appeared before the pharaoh and told him to release the Hebrews to travel three days into the wilderness to worship their God, but pharaoh refused and commanded that the taskmasters increase the burden of the Israelites.

For our activity today, we completed a fun maze and did a few shots for a video that will be revealed at the end of the quarter, so be on the lookout for that! 

Interactive Display

To help the story to come alive for the children, I put together an interactive display for the story of Moses. Each week, something new is either revealed or added or taken away. This week, we prepare for Moses and Aaron's confrontation with the pharaoh.