Twelve Men Go Into Canaan

"It is a people that do err in their heart, and they have not known my ways." Psalm 95:10

After the commandments were given to the Israelites they continued on their journey. The ark where the commandments were kept was carried with them and God traveled with them. He made a pillar of cloud by day and fire by night so they could see him. 

When they came near to the land called Canaan Moses sent twelve men to see the land. They came back, carrying a large bunch of grapes between two of them on a pole. They said the land was full of strong cities and strong men. Some of the men said that they wouldn't be able to win the land and they would all be killed. Only two men, Joshua and Caleb, said they shouldn't fear because God had promised to save them and give them the land. The other people didn't listen and they cried out that they should have stayed in Egypt. They threw stones at Moses and Aaron when they tried to quiet them. 

God showed them His glory and would have abandoned them in that moment if Moses hadn't quickly prayed for them. Instead of abandoning them, God said no one who had said they would fail would enter into the land. They had to stay in the wilderness until all of the adult men, except Joshua and Caleb, had died and their children were grown. Then their children, who had learned to trust God and do as he said, would be the ones to live in the promised land.

QUESTIONS

1. How did the Israelites know which way to go in the wilderness ?

2. What was the ark ?

3. What was in it ?

4. How did God show them His Presence?

5. Whom did Moses send to look at the land ?

6. What did these men bring back?

7. But what did they say of the country?

8. Who were afraid ?

9. Why was it wrong to be afraid ?

10. Who only were not afraid ?

11. What were the people ready to do?

12. How were they punished ?

13. How long were they to stay in the wilderness ?

14. Who would die?

15. Who would grow up to go in?

16. Who were the two good brave men?

17. What was promised to Joshua and Caleb?

"I prayed therefore unto the Lord, and said, O Lord God, destroy not Thy people and Thine inheritance." Deut. 9:26

After Moses destroyed the golden calf, he went back to Mount Sinai to the cloud again to pray to God. He prayed all night that God would forgive the people and not abandon them because of what they'd done. He prayed that God would once more give him the Commandments on the tablets again. God agreed and gave him the commandments again.

Then Moses asked, "I pray, show me your glory." 

God said, "You can't see my face, because no one can see me and live." He told Moses to come back the next day with two blocks of stone and Moses could see as much of God's glory as he could show.

The next day Moses returned to the mountain and brought the two blocks with him. God came down in the cloud and told Moses to hide in a small cleft in the rock. Moses was able to see a small part of God's glory. He heard God proclaim, "The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, long suffering and abundant in goodness and truth."

Moses bowed his head and worshipped God. No one was as close to God as Moses because God spoke to him face to face, like someone speaks with a friend.

Moses stayed 40 days and 40 nights on Mount Sinai. God wrote the commandments again on the two stone tablets and forgave the Israelites for what they'd done. 

When Moses came back from the mountain after being in conversation from God and the glory was still on his face. He shone like the sun and it was so bright that the people couldn't look at him. Moses had to put a veil over his face because no one could look at him. Moses was favored of God and brought into his glory.

QUESTIONS

1. What wicked thing had the Israelites done ?

2. Who prayed for their forgiveness ?

3. Where did Moses go to pray for their forgiveness ?

4. Who forgave them ?

5. What did Moses ask God to show him?

6. What did God say?

7. Where did Moses hide?

8. What passed by?

9. What voice did he hear?

10. How was Moses honored ?

11. How long did he stay on the mountain?

12. What did God give him again ?

13. How did his face look when he came down?

14. What did he do to hide his face?

15. Why was his face so glorious ?

Moses Destroys the Golden Calf

"Know therefore that the Lord thy God, He is God." Deut. 7:9

Moses stayed on Mount Sinai for 40 days. The Israelites didn't know what happened to him. They thought he'd died because he'd been gone for so long. Even though they'd heard God's voice speaking to them, they grew impatient and didn't want to wait. So they said they wanted something to worship since Moses was gone. They took their gold earrings and melted them down and made a golden calf. Then they began to worship this idol, and they sang, danced and had a feast. 

Moses came down off of Mount Sinai with the tablets God had written. He heard shouting and singing, then saw people dancing around the golden calf. He grew angry at them and threw the two tablets down on the ground. They broke into pieces. He punished the Israelites for disobeying and he broke the calf to pieces and ground it up.

Then he prayed to God to forgive them. God did, and Moses received two new tablets of stone with the commandments written on them.

QUESTIONS

1. Where did Moses go?

2. What was God going to give him ?

3. Who were left below ?

4. What did the Israelites want?

5. What did they make of their earrings ?

6. What is the Second Commandment ?

7. How did they break the Second Commandment ?

8. What did Moses do with the tablets?

11. Why did he throw them down?

12. What did he do with the golden calf?

13. What did he do then?

14. What did God do?

God Writes the Ten Commandments

"The Lord talked with you face to face in the mount out of the midst of the fire." Deuteronomy 5:4

When God spoke the Ten Commandments, he called Moses to speak with Him in the cloud. Moses was the only man that spoke to God this way. 

God gave him two blocks of stone where He'd written the Ten Commandments with His own finger. Then God told them to make a chest - an ark - to keep the commandments in. He told Moses to make it from wood, cover it with gold, and have two cherubims - angels - on each side. This chest was called the Ark of the Covenant. 

God told Moses to put the Ark inside of a room in a tent. He told him how to make the room, how to make the curtains for the tent and everything they would need to carry it with them. This was called the Tabernacle and it was a holy place. The Israelites could pray in front of the Tabernacle but they couldn't go inside because it was going to be God's holy place. The room where the Ark was kept was called the Holy of Holies. Only the priest God chose could enter that room.

The first High Priest God chose was Moses' brother, Aaron. God gave Moses instructions on how to make Aaron's clothing. He had a beautiful tunic to wear and a cap with a "Holiness to the Lord" etched on it. Aaron was also made an embroidered robe, decorated with bells and pomegranates and a blue scarf over his chest. He was to wear a breast plate and on it would be twelve precious stones, each carved with the name of a tribe of Israel. Then Aaron would always have them nearby, on his heart and his mind, when he prayed to God. 

God gave Moses all of these instructions while on the mountain, and Moses went back to the people to tell them what to do.

QUESTIONS

1. What was given to Moses on Mount Sinai?

2. Who spoke the Commandments ?

3. To whom did God give them ?

4. What were they written on ?

5. Who wrote them ?

6. Where were they to be kept ?

7. What was the chest like ?

8. What was the chest called ?

9. Where was Moses to put the chest ?

10. What was the room called ?

11. Who could go near the Holy of Holies?

12. Who was the first High Priest?

13. Who was Aaron?

14. What was Aaron supposed to wear?

15. Why couldn't the people come inside ?

The Ten Commandments

"Thou heardest His words out of the midst of the fire." Deut. 4:36

When the Israelites had left Egypt, God told Moses to lead them to Mount Sinai. This was a high, rocky mountain in the wilderness. God told Moses to put a boundary - like a fence - around the mountain so that no one could touch it. It was a holy place. The people were to pray around it and wait. God covered the mountain with a dark cloud and smoke. The ground shook and they heard thunder and saw lightning from the sky. Then they heard God's voice speaking to them adn they were afraid. 

God spoke out of that cloud to Moses and gave him the Ten Commandments and the rest of the laws the people needed to obey. God wrote the commandments himself on two tablets of stone. 

God wants us to obey the commandments just like the Israelites needed to obey them. They are His words and should be kept. When we pray, we can ask for strength and help to obey them.

 QUESTIONS

1. Where had the children of Israel come from ?

2. Who was leading them ?

3. Where did God tell Moses to take them ?

4. What wonderful sight did they see on Mount Sinai ?

5. What did they hear ?

6. Who spoke out of the cloud?

7. What did God speak ?

8. How many Commandments?

9. Do you know the first commandment?

10. On what did God write them?

11. To whom did He give them?

12. Did you promise to keep them?

13. How can you be helped to do as they tell you?

14. How do you ask for God's help ?

God Gave the Israelites Manna From Heaven

"He humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not." Deut. 8:3

God gave the Israelites water to drink, but he also gave them food to eat.

All around the land were hard stones. There was some grass for the animals to eat, and a few trees, but they didn't have any fruit on them and there wasn't any corn to make bread. The people grew hungry and they started to complain. "What will happen to us?" They cried.

But God didn't forget them. When they woke up the next morning they found small, white discs on the ground. They tasted like wafers made with honey. 

This was called manna, and God had sent it to them to eat. It was there every morning except on the Sabbath. They had to wake up early to gather it, because it would melt in the sun. They had just enough for what they needed for the day. It would spoil if it was saved for the next day. The only day they could gather and save more was Friday, the day before their Sabbath day. This was because God had told them not to work on Saturday, the Sabbath day, and gathering the manna was considered work. Today, most people in the protestant church takes Sunday as a Sabbath day. 

The fourth commandment tells us to remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy. All the time the Israelites were in the wilderness, the manna came to them each morning so they could have food. 

QUESTIONS

1. Where were the Israelites ?

2. What did they drink in the wilderness?

3. What else did they want?

4. Why could they not get bread ?

5. What did God give them instead ?

6. What was the manna like ?

7. Where did it lie?

8. When was the manna on the grass?

9. Who was to eat it?

10. Who sent it?

11. What became of it in hot sunshine?

12. Would it stay fresh?

13. What was the only day when it could be saved?

14. How much came down the day before the Sabbath?

15. What could not be done on the Sabbath?

16. What is the Fourth Commandment?

17. So why did they get twice as much manna the day before ?

18. When did no manna come?

19. What day do we take as our Sabbath?

The Brass Serpent Cures the Israelites

"As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up." John 3:14

The Israelites weren't very patient. Anytime they had a problem, they began to complain and worry. They didn't remember that God was taking care of them and He does what is best for us. 

There was part of the journey that covered a lot of steep, stony ground. It was very hot and uncomfortable. When the Israelites saw the path ahead they started to complain and spoke out against God and Moses.

So again God punished them. He made little snakes that live in the desert come out of their hiding places. The snakes bit the complainers and they died. The others then said they were sorry and to please make the snakes stop. 

God told Moses what to do. Moses had to melt some brass and made the form of a serpent, one that looked like the little snakes that had bitten them, and put it on a pole. If anyone who had been bitten would come and look at the brass serpent his bite would get well and he wouldn't die.

This was a miracle God provided to teach the Israelites to trust in him. And we remember the brass serpent even today. If you look at the mark of a doctor today, the mark is a serpent on a pole. This image still stands for healing today.

QUESTIONS

1. What sort of place did the Israelites have to travel over?

2. How did they like it ?

3. What did they do?

4. Why shouldn't they have complained?

5. Who had been taking care of them?

6. How did God punish them?

7. What happened when the serpents bit them ?

8. What were they sorry for ?

9. What did Moses have to make?

10. Where did he put the brazen serpent?

11. What were they to do if they were bit?

12. What cured them?

God Provides Water from a Rock

"Ye shall not tempt the Lord your God." Deut. 6:16

A desert is full of rocks and sand, prickly plants and no water. Do you remember the story of Ishmael and how thirsty he was in the desert? God heard him crying for water and sent an angel to lead his mother to a well.

When the Israelites left Egypt, they were traveling through this wilderness. Mount Sinai stood up in the midst and all around them were rocks of red and black marble, all dry and parched under the hot sun. The Israelites were hot and thirsty, but they didn't pray as Ishmael had. Instead, they grew angry and said, "Is God with us or not?"

They tempted God by complaining. God could have punished them for complaining, but God showed mercy to them and pitied them. He told Moses to take his staff and go to a nearby rock. When Moses struck the rock God made a spring of water flow from it. All the people and their animals had enough to drink. 

God performed this great wonder and was very kind to provide for them, even though they were complaining. God was close to them and was with them all the time. They could have prayed instead of complaining. 

Don't be like the Israelites. When something hard happens, don't complain about it, but pray and God will help you. Either the problem will go away or you will better be able to handle it.

QUESTIONS

1. Where had the Israelites come from?

2. Who was leading them ?

3. What kind of place did they get into ?

4. What is a desert like ?

5. What was the mountain in the middle of the desert ?

6. What can't be found in the desert ?

7. Who was the boy that was thirsty there before ?

8. What did Ishmael do when he was thirsty ?

9. But what did the Israelites do ?

10. What did they say ?

11. What should they have done instead?

12. Did God punish them?

14. What did Moses strike?

15. What came out of the rock?

16. Who made the water come out of the rock ?

17. Wasn't it good of God to give them water?

19. What should you do when a thing is hard ?

Honor Those God Has Placed Over Us

"The Lord will show who are His, and who is holy." Numbers 16:5

The Israelites had left Egypt and had to travel through the desert for a long time. There were no buildings or towns or even a village. They called it the wilderness. Moses and Aaron were leading them and God was taking care of all the people. God kept them safe and gave them food everyday. But there were two angry men in the camp, Dathan and Abiram, and they got tired of being in the wilderness. They grew angry at Moses and spoke out against him. 

"We are just as good as Moses," they said. "Why should he be our leader?"

They continued to cause conflict in the camp and would not repent. So God punished them. He made the earth open under their feet and they fell into a hole. They were swallowed up by the earth in front of all the Israelites. They died because they wanted to argue about Moses and set themselves over him, even though God had placed Moses in this position.

God has set people over us - our parents, our pastors and teachers, our government leaders. It's our duty to obey them as He tells us in the Fifth Commandment. We should honor them because God has placed these people in that special position. 

It's not likely that we would be punished the way Dathan and Abiram were, but their death should help us remember that God wants us to obey those he's placed over us. 

QUESTIONS

1. What is the Fifth Commandment?

2. What is the explanation of it in the duty to our neighbor?

3. Who was set over the Israelites by God?

4. Where had he brought them from ?

5. Where was he leading them to ?

6. How should they have behaved to him?

7. What bad men were there among them ?

8. Whom did they not care for ?

9. What did they say?

10. Why was it wrong of Dathan and Abiram not to obey Moses?

11. What happened to them?

12. Why was God angry with Dathan and Abiram?

13. What makes Him angry?

14. Who did God set over you?

15. How should you treat them?

Crossing the Red Sea

"The children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea." Exodus 14:16

The Egyptians had lost their first born sons and the Israelites had been freed. They were leaving Egypt and their life of slavery. 

But Pharaoh's hard heart turned again with anger. He called his chariots and horsemen together and followed the children of Israel to bring them back into Egypt. When he caught up to them, they were at the shores of the Red Sea. 

The Israelites were afraid when they saw Pharaoh coming. They couldn't go forward because of the sea and they couldn't go back because Pharaoh was there. But God spoke to Moses and told him not be afraid. The people just needed to stand still and see how God would save them.

God Himself showed the people he was with them. He'd been leading them in a pillar of cloud, but God moved within the pillar behind the Israelites, between them and the Egyptians, and made it dark to the Egyptians but gave light to the Israelites, even though it was night time. 

God told Moses to stretch his staff out over the sea. Moses obeyed and something amazing happened. The waves of the sea parted and stood up on each side. Between the wall of water there was a wide open space for the children of Israel to cross the sea, safe and dry. The people started across - men, women and children - with the waves standing still on each side of them.

Pharaoh saw they were crossing and tried to follow them. But when the Israelites had finished crossing, Pharaoh and his army was in the middle of the sea. The walls fell and the sea returned to its full strength again. Pharaoh and his army were lost in the sea where they sank like lead in the mighty water. 

The Israelites were standing on the other side of the sea and they knew they were free. They began to sing hymns of joy to God who had set them free. 

We sing hymns of joy to God, too, because of Jesus who set us free.

QUESTIONS

1. What last plague had come on Egypt?

2. Who had left Egypt ?

3. What did Pharaoh do ?

4. What was leading the Israelites?

5. What was behind them?

6. Where did the pillar of cloud go?

7. How were the Egyptians cut off from them ?

8. What wonder did God work?

9. Where did the Israelites cross?

10. Who came after them ?

11. What became of the Egyptians ?

12. Who were free ?

13. Who had made them free ?

The Feast of the Passover

"It is the sacrifice of the Lord's Passover." Exodus 12:27

Once Pharaoh said they could go, the Israelites were already packed and dressed for the journey, just like God had told them. They started the journey, happy there would be no more making bricks, no more work for the Egyptians, and their children were safe. They were free, and God was leading them to a beautiful country that He said long ago He would give them.

To remind them how they were saved from the Egyptians, God told them that on the same day each year they should kill a lamb and roast it and put the blood on the doorpost of their home, just as they had before, and eat the lamb while dressed to go on a journey. This way, they would always remember what had happened and how God had made them free. 

This was called the Passover, because the angel passed over the houses where blood marked the doors.

They Israelites started their journey and God appeared in a pillar of cloud and lead them away from Egypt. 

Our Lord Jesus was crucified when He had come to celebrate the Feast of Passover many years later. He is called the Lamb of God, because he was pure and gentle, and His blood saves us and sets us free from the devil just as the lamb's blood saved the Israelites. Because of Jesus, we celebrate Passover and remember on Easter Sunday that after Jesus died on the cross, He rose again from the dead and now lives forever.

QUESTIONS

1. What did Pharaoh say that the Israelites could do?

2. What made him let them go at last ?

3. Who were set free ?

4. What were the Israelites to do every year?

5. What was this eating the lamb called ?

6. Why was it called the Passover ?

7. Why were the Israelites glad ?

8. Who set us free?

9. What did our Lord do on Easter Sunday?

10. In what is He like a lamb ?

11. How did God lead them?

"There was not a house in which there was not one dead."

Exodus 12:30

Moses told the Israelite families what to do - take a lamb, kill it and roast it whole that evening. They needed to take some of its blood and use it to make a mark on the doorpost of their house. Then the families needed dress and pack for a journey and eat the lamb for their supper that night.

The Israelites obeyed God, and while they were eating supper there was a great shout. A great cry followed. God's angel had come and every house not marked with blood from a lamb had lost their first born son. The deaths were everywhere - even in Pharaoh's palace where he lost his own son. Even the first born of the cattle died because the Egyptians used to worship them. But if the angel saw the blood on the doorpost it passed over the house and the oldest son was saved. 

Pharaoh was sorry at last and said that the people who had brought his land such trouble could leave and go wherever they liked.

QUESTIONS

1. Where were the Israelites living ?

2. What hard work had they to do ?

3. Who said they should leave ?

4. Who would not let them go ?

5. What did God tell the Israelites to eat?

6. How were they to be dressed while they ate it ?

7. What were they to do with the blood ?

8. Who was going to pass over the land that night?

9. What did the angel do where he did not see any blood on the doorpost ?

10. Who were frightened then?

11. What did the Pharaoh say?

The Final Plague Comes

"He smote all the first-born in Egypt." Psalm 78:51

Nine sad plagues had come upon the Egyptians - the blood for water, frogs, lice, flies, the cattle's death, the boils, the hail, locusts and darkness. But there was one plague more, the last and the worst. This would make the Egyptians let the people of Israel go, so they had to be ready. 

It would be a horrible night. God told Moses that His angel would pass over the whole land of Egypt that night and in each house the oldest son would die. No one would be spared, from Pharaoh's palace to the poorest home in the city. Because they had killed the Israelite's children, God was going to take theirs. 

The people of Israel had to do something to protect their homes so the angel would pass over them. God told Moses to have the Israelite families eat a lamb for supper that night. They needed to take some of the blood from the lamb and make a mark on the doorpost outside. When the angel saw the mark he would pass over the house and no one would die. If they would do this, God would bless them and set them free.

The people believed God and they obeyed him.

QUESTIONS

1. How many plagues of Egypt were there?

2. Can you repeat them?

3. What were they all for ?

4. Who would not let them go ?

5. What was the last plague?

6. Who were to die?

7. Why were the Egyptians going to lose their children?

8. Who would slay them?

9. Whom would the angel spare?

10. How were the Israelites to mark their houses?

11. With what blood?

12. What were they to do with the lamb ?

Plagues of Locusts and Darkness

"The Lord hardened Pharaoh's heart, so that he would not let the children of Israel go." Exodus 10:20

Pharaoh and the people of Egypt had not learned from the earlier plagues and warnings. Seven plagues had already passed, but the king wouldn't release the people. So God sent a plague of locusts. 

Locusts are like large grasshoppers. They came to Egypt in a swarm and ate every green leaf and blade of grass. The earth was bare and the trees were dry sticks. There wasn't anything left to eat.

Pharaoh then told Moses that the men could leave, but the women and children had to stay. Then he had Moses and Aaron thrown out of his palace. 

God told Moses to hold his hand up to heaven. When he did, darkness fell over Egypt. It was so dark no fire or candle could give light. People said it could "be felt." No one moved around in the city for three days. But where the children of Israel were camped, the sun rose and set as usual. In this way God showed Egypt that the Israelites were his people. 

Pharaoh changed his mind again and set all the people could go but they had to leave their cattle behind. Moses told him, no, the cattle must come too. Pharaoh's heart grew hard again and he made Moses leave the palace again, swearing that Moses would never see his face again. 

Moses told him, "You've spoken the truth. I won't see your face again."

This ended the last hope for Pharaoh. He wouldn't have another chance to obey God. Let's be careful to not be like him. 

QUESTIONS

1. How many plagues of Egypt were there ?

2. Which plagues already happened?

3. What are the two plagues in this lesson?

4. What are locusts?

5. What harm do locusts do?

6. Who did Pharaoh say could go?

7. Whom would he not let go ?

8. What plague came then ?

9. What made the darkness so horrible?

10. How long did it last ?

11. Who were not in the dark?

12. What did Pharaoh say then?

13. What did he want to keep back?

14. And how did he then change ?

15. What did he say to Moses?

16. How did Moses answer?

More Plagues On Egypt

"There is none like me in all the earth." Exodus 9:14

God spoke to Moses from a burning bush and told him to lead the children of Israel away from the people in Egypt who were cruel to them. 

But the king of Egypt, called Pharaoh, wouldn't let them go. God sent plagues to them as a message and punishment, but Pharaoh wouldn't change his mind. God sent ten plagues, and you hear about three of them to this day.

First, the sheep and cows that the Egyptians worshiped got sick and died. Then the people got sick and had sores all over their body. Then God sent a terrible storm with thunder and lightning and hail so big it killed anyone in the fields and broke all the tree branches. Pharaoh was frightened at the storm and said the people could go. 

So Moses prayed to God and the storm stopped. When everything was still again, Pharaoh changed his mind and said the people couldn't leave. God continued to be angry at him for this. 

Sometimes we're a little bit like Pharaoh when we say, "No, I won't," when we're asked to do something. Even when we're punished, we stay stubborn and say, "No one will force me to do that!" And we make our hearts hard when we do this. It's sad because this hardness is wrong. It hurts us and it hurts God. 

Pray to God to help you when you feel stubborn and feel your heart harden. Ask him to teach you to obey. And don't forget and do the same thing again when the punishment is over, or it will have done you no good and you will have to be punished again. 

QUESTIONS

1. What did God want Pharaoh to do?

2. Who spoke God's words to Pharaoh ?

3. But what did Pharaoh say ?

4. Who was Pharaoh?

5. Who was Moses?

6. What was done to Pharaoh ?

7. Did he mind ?

8. Tell me the three plagues we hear of today.

9. How many plagues were there in all ?

10. What happened in the thunderstorm ?

11. What did Pharaoh say when he was frightened?

12. So what stopped?

13. But did he let the people go?

14. What fault in us is the same as Pharaoh's?

15. What should we do?

16. Who can help us to fight with their obstinate temper?

17. But how must we get God's help?