VERSES: Exodus 16:1-36
MEMORY VERSE: "...It is manna: for they wist not what it was..."
BOOK TO REMEMBER: Malachi. Write "Malachi" on small slips of paper and hand out at the end of class.
PRAYER: Thank God for our food and for giving us the things that we need.
SPECIAL SONG: Be Patient And Kind (see April - Lesson - Joseph Meets his Brothers Who Hated Him on this blog.)
VISUAL AID: Pictures of quail, white board or chalkboard drawing of Activity below.
LESSON POINTS:
- As the children of Israel traveled by foot from one place to another, everyone started complaining about Moses and Aaron. The people said to one another, "We wish that we would have stayed in Egypt and sat near the pots cooking meat and eaten our fill of bread. But now they have brought us into this wilderness to kill all of these people because there is no food." Guess who heard them say that? God did! God told Moses that He would rain bread from heaven for all the people to eat. He explained that the people would go out in the morning and gather a certain amount of bread every day. He said He was going to test them to see if they would do just what He said. God said things would be different on the sixth day. On the sixth day, they should gather twice as much bread. God said that He was the one who was giving them something to eat. He was the provider. They wouldn't have to work for the bread, just go out and pick it up.
- Moses and Aaron said to the people that in the evening they would know that the LORD had brought them out of Egypt and in the morning they would see the glory of the LORD because God had heard their complaining. Moses said to them that when the people complained, they were complaining about God and God was hearing their complaints. Moses told the people that in the evening God would give them meat and, in the morning, He would give them bread.
- Moses spoke to Aaron and Aaron spoke to the people. Moses said to tell the people to come close because the LORD has heard their complaining. And, as they were listening to Aaron, they looked toward the wilderness and the glory of the LORD appeared in the cloud. Do we remember why was the cloud there? That's right! The cloud showed them where to go. They just followed the cloud! And as time passed, in the evening, the quails came and covered the camp. There were many, many birds! But when they got up in the morning, there was a dew all over the ground outside. When the dew was gone, there remained small white round things all over the ground. Everyone was asking each other, "What is it? What is it?" They called it manna. Moses said it was the bread from heaven that God had promised. It was white like coriander seed and it tasted like honey. Yummy! We like honey, don't we?
- God has always told people exactly what to do to please Him. This time, He told the people to gather just enough bread for each person to eat for that one day, except on the sixth day, they should pick up twice as much to last for two days. So, for example, Sunday they would pick up bread, Monday they would pick up bread, Tuesday they would pick up bread, Wednesday they would pick up bread, Thursday they would pick up bread, BUT on Friday, they would pick up bread for Friday and Saturday.They were to measure what they gathered and they were to make sure they had just the amount that Moses told them to pick up. They were to eat the bread all that day and not to have any leftovers for the next day.
- Some of the people listened, but some did not. Everything went well for those who listened to God and did what he said, but for the ones who did NOT listen and kept some of the bread for the next day, it had worms in it. Moses was very angry at the ones who did not listen to Him.
- What happened to the manna when it was left outside and no one picked it all up? Let's turn our Bibles to Exodus 16:21 and see what happened. (Read verse.) Let's put our bookmarks right here. What happened to the extra manna? That's right! When the sun got hot, it melted! At the end of the week, on the sixth day, the people were to pick up how much manna? That's right! Enough for TWO days! The people listened to Moses and guess what? The leftover manna didn't stink and didn't have any worms!
- Moses said that the seventh day was the sabbath day and they were to rest.
- But...there were some people who didn't listen and when they went out on the seventh day, was there any manna? NO! This made God angry and He asked Moses, "How long will they refuse Me?" So the people rested on the seventh day. God told Moses to set aside an amount of manna to be kept in a special place. The children of Israel ate manna for forty years in the wilderness until they came to the land that flowed with milk and honey...the land of Canaan.
"Older Student" Tips:
- Discuss why God might have chosen a quail as their meat instead of deer or bear.
- Do we see a pattern of how the children of Israel test God by their disobedience, only to repent or turn around and obey Him? Yes! Even now!
Materials needed: 9" x 12" piece of light colored construction paper, crayons.
- Hand out a piece of paper to each student.
- Fold paper in half, width-wise.
- On outside of folded paper, write "How God Fed The People" and "Exodus 16".
- Open 'book.'
- On top of the fold line, draw a line down the middle of the paper.
- On left side, write "In the evening..." at the top of the paper.
- Write "Quail" at the bottom of the left side.
- Draw a quail or a bird with a top knot in the middle of the left side of the paper. (See picture above.)
- On the right side of the paper, write "In the morning..." at the top of the paper.
- Write "Manna" at the bottom of the right side of the paper.
- Dear a basket with white circles colored in the middle. (see picture above.)
- Remember, artistic qualities are not graded in Bible class. Keep drawing simple.
