Scripture: Exodus chapter 6-12, with emphasis on Exodus 12:21-42.
Key Verse: “Now I have seen how the
people of Israel are suffering because of the Egyptians, and I will keep my
promise.” -- Exodus 6:5
Memory Verse: Romans 8:39: Nothing in all creation can separate us from
God's
love for us in Christ Jesus our Lord! (CEV).
Concepts:
1.
God helps people who suffer.
2.
We remember what God has done in the past and
we celebrate what God is doing today.
Objectives:
1.
Older
children will locate the story of the plagues and Passover in their Bibles.
Younger children will learn that the story is in Exodus, the second book of the
Old Testament.
2.
The
children will learn the basic events of the story.
3.
The
children will relate the story to the concepts above.
Procedure:
Welcome and
Introductions:
1.
Greet
the children and introduce yourself.
Wear your nametag.
2.
Open
with a brief prayer (optional, as they have just prayed in Great Hall).
Scripture/Bible Story:
1.
Grades
1-2 will not use Bibles, but do open yours to show them the story is in Exodus,
the second book of the Bible.
For grades 3-5, make sure everybody has a Bible. Help the students to find
Exodus. (Get the shepherds to go around the room and help with this.)
2.
After
they’ve found Exodus, help them find chapter 4, then verse 27, and tell them
this is where the story of the plagues and the Passover begins. Some of the
children will confuse chapters and verses. Show them that chapter numbers are
the big ones, and also are at the top of every page.
3.
Review
the story, using the summary below as a guide. Unless this is the first Sunday
of the rotation, let the children help you tell the story. This will give you
an idea of how much they already know. Consider showing illustrations from a
Bible storybook, or using some props such as a walking stick, stuffed frogs,
plastic bugs, a handful of confetti to simulate ashes, etc.
Story Summary
Remember
that you’ve already learned about Moses and the burning bush – when God called
Moses to lead the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt. After that, Moses, his
wife, Zipporah, and their two sons set off for Egypt.
In
Egypt, Moses and his brother Aaron met with the Israelite leaders. They told
them everything God had said. And the Israelites believed, and bowed down and
worshiped God. They knew that God has seen their suffering and was going to
help them.
Moses
and Aaron went to the Pharaoh and said, "The Lord, the God of Israel,
says, ‘Let my people go, so they may hold a festival in the desert to honor
me.'"
The
Pharaoh said, "What do you mean by making the people neglect their work?
Get back to work!" And then he called his slave drivers together and told
them to push their workers even harder. And the Israelites complained bitterly
to Moses and Aaron.
Moses
called out to God, "Lord, why do you mistreat your people? Why did you
send me? It has caused nothing but trouble and made things worse than ever for
your people. The Pharaoh is now treating your people even more cruelly."
God
answered, "You’ll see. I have seen how my people are suffering and I will
keep my promise to them and free them from slavery. Now I will force the
Pharaoh to let my people go. In fact, he will drive them out of his land. Now
you and Aaron must return to him and say as I command."
Then
came ten plagues, each one worse than the one before. And in each plague, the
region of Goshen, where the Israelites lived, was spared.
First,
Moses struck the surface of the Nile River with the walking stick, and the
water turned into blood. All over the land water turned into blood — even in
pots and pitchers. All the fish died. It stank.
But
Pharaoh said “NO!” He would not let the people of Israel go.
(With each succeeding plague, pause after
“But Pharaoh said...” and let the children say “NO!” They should catch on to
the cue pretty quickly.)
Then
God sent frogs. They covered the land and filled people’s houses. They jumped
on everyone and everything — they even stole bread that was baking in ovens!
But
Pharaoh said “NO!” He would not let the people of Israel go.
Then
Moses struck his walking stick on the ground and God turned the dust into
gnats. Nasty little bugs that covered all the people and all the animals. They
flew in eyes, ears, noses, and mouths. They were maddening.
But
Pharaoh said “NO!” He would not let the people of Israel go.
God
sent flies. A cloud of fat, black flies that buzzed around and crawled into
everything.
But
Pharaoh said “NO!” He would not let the people of Israel go.
God
sent a terrible disease, and all the animals of the Egyptians died — the
cattle, horses, sheep, goats, and donkeys.
But
Pharaoh said “NO!” He would not let the people of Israel go.
Moses
threw ashes into the air, and it settled on the Egyptian people and became
boils, open sores all over the people's skin.
But
Pharaoh said “NO!” He would not let the people of Israel go.
Moses
raised his walking stick toward the sky, and God sent thunder and lightning and
hail. All over Egypt the hail pounded people and plants and animals. It
destroyed the flax and barley crops.
But
Pharaoh said “NO!” He would not let the people of Israel go.
Moses
raised his walking stick, and God sent an east wind that brought the locusts.
Locusts that ate everything the hail did not destroy. They came in swarms and
settled over the whole country. Not a green thing was left on any tree or plant
in all the land of Egypt.
But
Pharaoh said “NO!” He would not let the people of Israel go.
Moses
lifted his hand toward the sky and there was heavy darkness throughout Egypt
for three days. The Egyptians could not see each other and no one left his
house.
But
Pharaoh said “NO!” He would not let the people of Israel go.
Then
God said to Moses, "I will send only one more punishment on the Pharaoh
and his people. Then he will make you leave. Now tell the Israelites and to
prepare as I direct you. Every family must choose a special sheep or a goat,
and kill it and put some of the blood on the doorposts of their house. I will
go through the land of Egypt and kill every first-born male, human and animal.
But I will pass over the homes of the Israelites, if they are marked with blood
on the doorposts as I have instructed."
Moses
warned the Pharaoh that this was going to happen, but Pharaoh still said “NO!”
So when the time came, at midnight, God killed all the first-born sons in
Egypt, from the Pharaoh's son to the son of every prisoner in jail. There was
loud crying throughout Egypt, because there was not one home without a dead
son.
The
Pharaoh sent for Moses and Aaron: "Get out! Leave my country. Go and
worship your Lord, as you asked. Take your wives and people, your sheep, goats,
and cattle, and leave."
The
Israelites quickly packed their things and left. For food, the Israelites hastily
made some bread dough and put it in pans, but they did not mix any yeast in the
dough to make it rise. When they baked it the bread was very flat.
After
they left Egypt, God commanded the Israelites to remember the Passover and
celebrate it every year. Even today, during Passover time the Jews eat
unleavened bread. They have a special Passover meal to remember how God saved
their people from slavery.
Application:
1. Divide the class into several teams of three to five players (name them the Frogs, the Locusts, etc.). Have the shepherd keep score on the white board. Line the teams up and let them take turns spinning the game wheel, then answering questions. Let the first person in line spin for the team. The spinner can ask his team for help, but he is the only one who can answer.
2. If the spinner guesses correctly, award his team the points he spun for. If he answers wrong, no points. Make sure the class hears the correct answer. Either way, go on to the next team for the next question.
3. After spinning, the player goes to the end of his team’s line. One spin, one question per turn.
4. Keep going until every child has spun at least once. If the kids are taking too long to answer, give them a 30-second limit and get the shepherd to time the game using the timer in the supply bin.
5. See end of lesson plan for questions. Feel free to add some of your own. For the first couple of weeks, ask the questions in the order given to reinforce the sequence of events. In later weeks, if the children seem to know the story well, you might mix them up. If time is short, skip some of the questions regarding details of specific plagues. Grades 1-2: Use multiple-choice questions. Grades 3-5: Ask the same questions, but don’t offer choice of answers.
Reflection
Time:
Tell the children: The story of the plagues and the
Passover is very long so we’ve left out some of the details. But there are some
important parts that I want us to read now.
Grades 1-2: Read these verses to the
children and briefly discuss. Read directly from the Bible (CEV) to emphasize
that’s where the story is.
Grades 3-5: Have the children close
their Bibles. Call out a verse; let the first to find it read it out loud
(different child each time). Then briefly discuss the verse.
Exodus 6:5 -- “Now I have seen how the
people of Israel are suffering because of the Egyptians, and I will keep my
promise.”
Even when it
looked as if things were getting worse and worse for the Israelites, God knew
they were suffering and promised to help them. And today, God still helps
people who are suffering, even when it doesn’t look that way.
Exodus 10: 2 -- “I did this because I want you to tell your
children and your grandchildren about my miracles and about my harsh treatment
of the Egyptians. Then all of you will know that I am the Lord.”
Some terrible
things happen to people in this story, but here God explains that there is a
purpose behind it – so the Israelites will know God’s power and teach their
children about God. Sometimes today
terrible things happen that we might not understand, but we can trust that God
cares about people who suffer and that we can care for people who suffer also.
Exodus 12:14 – “Remember this day and
celebrate it each year as a festival in my honor.”
And Exodus
12:17 – “Celebrate this Festival of Thin Bread as a way of remembering the
day that I brought your families and tribes out of Egypt. And do this each
year.”
God commanded
the Israelites to remember their rescue and celebrate it every year. We also
remember great things God has done and celebrate them in our worship.
Especially, we celebrate Jesus’ resurrection every Easter.
Ask the shepherds to pass out the journals
and pencils/markers. You may wish to give the children a sticker or some
memento to paste in their journal as a reminder of the story.
Have the children
write at the top of the page: Remember
and Celebrate (write it on the white board for the little ones). Ask them
to write or draw a picture of something that God has done in the past that they
remember and celebrate today. It might be something we all do in our church –
such as remembering and celebrating Jesus’ resurrection at Easter. Or it might
be something that God has done for them or their family or someone they know.
Prayer: Close with a prayer such as:
“God, we remember that you kept your promise and helped the people of Israel
when they were suffering. We know that you still help people today when they
are suffering. Help us also to care for
people who suffer. Help us remember and
celebrate the good things you have done and are still doing today.”
Tidy and
Dismissal: Ask
children to help collect Bibles, journals, etc.
Note: I find
that the kids participate better if they get little rewards along the way.
Skittles are highly motivating for some reason. If I were leading this workshop
I’d give them a Skittle for bringing their Bible, for finding the Bible
passage, for answering a question in the game (one to everybody on the team),
for participating in discussion, a Skittle to everybody on the way out the door
after cleanup, etc. I’d have several small jars of Skittles on hand and put the
shepherds in charge of distribution. (Better check with shepherds and make sure
nobody is diabetic!)
Teacher
preparation in advance:
1.
Read the scripture and attend the Faith Quest Leaders Bible Study.
2. Learn the story thoroughly and plan for telling it.
3. Prepare a closing prayer.
Supply List
Extra Bibles
Bible storybook or props for story telling (optional)
Dry-erase marker
Memento for journals (optional)
Skittles (optional)
References
Story summary from adaptation by Amy Crane for Palma Ceia Presbyterian Church, Tampa, Florida. Posted on Workshop Rotation Idea and Lesson Exchange, <http://130.94.172.162/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=44&t=000003>
For tips on biblical storytelling, see Storytelling in Sunday School Settings, © Amy Crane, http://www.rotation.org/lessons/storytell.htm
Questions
for game
Who
went with Moses to talk to the Israelite leaders and the Pharaoh?
A.
His
brother Joseph
B.
His brother Aaron
C.
His
wife, Zipporah
What
was the name of the region of Egypt where the Israelites lived?
A.
The
Nile
B.
Canaan
C.
Goshen
When
Moses and Aaron first met with the
Israelite leaders and told them that God had sent them to lead their people out
of slavery, what did the Israelite leaders do?
A.
They believed, and bowed
down and worshiped God. (They knew that God has seen their suffering and was
going to help them.)
B.
They
said, “Don’t you dare talk to Pharaoh! It will only make things worse!”
C.
They
said, “No way, Pharaoh is more powerful than our God.”
Moses
and Aaron asked the Pharaoh to let the Israelites walk into the desert. What
reason did they give for wanting to do this?
A.
They
told Pharaoh they wanted to leave Egypt and never come back.
B.
They
told Pharaoh the land of Goshen was full and they wanted to build themselves
new houses in the desert.
C.
They told Pharaoh they
wanted to hold a festival in the desert to honor God.
When
Moses and Aaron asked the Pharaoh to let the Israelites walk into the desert,
how did the pharaoh respond?
A.
He
said, "That sounds reasonable enough. Have a good journey.”
B.
He told the slave drivers to
push the workers harder than ever.
C.
He
asked his magicians to send plagues upon the Israelites.
When
the slave drivers started forcing the Israelites to work harder than ever, how
did they respond?
A.
They blamed Moses and
complained bitterly.
B.
They
trusted that God would rescue them from slavery.
C.
They
began to plot a revolution against the Egyptians.
When
the Israelites complained to Moses, what did he do?
A.
He
told them not to worry and to trust God.
B.
He reminded them of God’s promise to rescue them from slavery.
C.
He complained to God.
When
Moses complained to God, how did God answer?
A. God said, “I have seen how my people are suffering and I will keep my
promise to them and free them from slavery.”
B.
God
said, “I’ll do what I can, but that Pharaoh is a tough guy.”
C.
God
said, “Tell my people to stop whining. A little hard work never hurt anybody.”
How
many plagues were there?
A.
10
B.
12
C.
15
What
happened when Aaron struck the Nile River with the walking stick?
A.
The
water turned into wine.
B.
The
water began to boil.
C.
The water turned into blood.
Which
animals stole bread out of the Egyptians’ ovens?
A.
Frogs
B.
Locusts
C.
Flies
When
Aaron struck his walking stick on the ground, what did the dust turn into?
A.
Flies
B.
Gnats
C.
Locusts
What
happened to the Egyptians’ animals?
A.
They died from a terrible disease.
B.
They
were eaten by locusts.
C.
They
were forced to work as hard as the Israelite slaves.
What
happened when Moses threw ashes into the air?
A.
They
cast a shadow that caused three days of darkness.
B.
They
settled on the Nile and turned the water to blood.
C.
They settled on the Egyptian
people and became sores on their skin.
What
did the hailstorm do?
A.
It pounded people and plants
and animals, and destroyed crops.
B.
It
killed the Pharaoh’s oldest son.
C.
It
killed all the frogs.
What
did the locusts do?
A.
They
drove away the animals.
B.
They
cast a shadow that turned the sky black for three days.
C.
They ate all the plants and
crops that the hail had not destroyed.
How
long was Egypt covered with darkness?
A.
Three days
B.
Three
weeks
C.
Three
months
What
was the punishment that finally caused Pharaoh to let the Israelites go?
A.
The
plague of darkness
B.
The
plague of locusts
C.
The death of the first-born
son in every family.
What
were the Israelites told to do so their first-born sons would not be killed?
A.
To
hide their children.
B.
To kill a special sheep or
goat and put some of the blood on the doorposts of their house.
C.
To
wear special clothes.
What
food did the Israelites take when they left Egypt?
A.
Bread made without yeast
B.
Bread
made without flour
C.
Bread
made without salt
After
they left Egypt, what did God command the Israelites to do every year?
A.
Remember
the Passover and celebrate it with a special song.
B.
Remember the Passover and
celebrate it with a special meal.
C.
Remember
the Passover and celebrate it with a big party.