VERSES: Exodus 8:16-19
MEMORY VERSE: Exodus 8:16 "...stretch out thy rod, and smite the dust of the land, that it may become lice throughout all the land of Egypt."
BOOK TO REMEMBER: Amos. Write 'Amos' on slips of paper and hand out to students at the end of class. It is beneficial to review all of the books of the Old Testament as a class, adding another book when the class is finished reciting. The song, The Books Of The Old Testament, is also helpful (see March - Songs We Sing In Bible Class #3 on this blog).
PRAYER: Thank God for being a great God who is everywhere, knows everything, and is all powerful. God is our Father in heaven who loves us enough to send His only Son to save us from our own sin. (John 3:16)
SPECIAL SONG: Day 1, Day 1 (see March - Lesson - God Created Everything)
VISUAL AID: Large poster of Activity (see below under Activity). Might be nice to collect some dust as we do our housework this week and save it in a small jar to show that God could create lice from what we had in the jar.
EXTRA VISUAL AID: Make a list of all of the plagues in order. Different ideas: 1) Using construction paper, write the number of the plague in one color and, on a matching colored paper, the plague 2) Or use a chart such as the one pictured below, adding the next plague as the class studies it 3) Or use a chart such as the one pictured below, but with the plagues already written in theappropriate spaces.
- Remember last time how we talked about how God had told Moses and Moses had told Aaron and Aaron had stretched his rod over the river and what came up out of the river and hopped into the people's homes? That's right! Frogs! Before that, when he hit the river with his rod, what happened to the water? Yes! It turned into blood! Why did all of this happen to Egypt? That's right! Pharaoh did not listen to God and obey him. What did God want Pharaoh to do? He wanted Pharaoh to let His people go into the wilderness to worship Him. But what did Pharaoh do his heart? He hardened it! He chose to turn his heart away from God and not listen to Him, so through these plagues, God was showing Pharaoh and all Egyptians that He was the LORD God.
- On another day, God told Moses to tell Aaron to stretch out his rod and hit the dust of the earth. Do you know happened? The dust turned to lice! Lice are little tiny insects or bugs that get on people's skin and in their hair and are annoying. They make you itch and you scratch and scratch and it still itches. So God caused the lice to get on men and women and children and even on the animals. Even Pharaoh's magicians knew that what was happening was not a trick like they had been doing with the water and with the frogs. They told Pharaoh, "This is the finger of God!" which meant that God had performed this miracle!
- But, still, Pharaoh hardened his heart and would not let the people go. Pharaoh would rather suffer and let all of his people suffer rather than let God's people go. He was stubborn and would not listen to God. Sometimes we get stubborn, too, don't we? We know in our hearts that it is better to listen to our moms and dads and teachers and do what they say, but sometimes we don't. We are stubborn and must suffer the consequences for our sin, whether it is a time out, a spanking, not being able to go somewhere special or do something special or receive a treat...all because we are stubborn just like Pharaoh. We need to have a heart like Moses who obeyed God and did what He said.
"Older Student" Tips:
- Discuss how only God can create things like creating lice out of dust.
- Talk about how the 'heart' is sometimes referred to as the brain or that thinking process rather than the organ that we have in our chests that pumps blood. (Proverbs 23:7)
ACTIVITY:
Materials needed: 9" x 12" construction paper, a 6" x 8" tan piece of paper, fasteners, glue, scissors, crayons.
- Pass out 9" x 12" pieces of paper for the background.
- Either instruct the students draw or the Bible teacher draws in advance a large picture of a man or woman from the the elbows up on the piece of tan paper. Draw two arms separately. (see picture below.)
- Color picture, drawing person's unhappy face.
- Cut out body and two arms.
- Glue body to background at bottom of paper.
- Fasten arms on with fasteners--NO GLUE! Arms need to move around easily, so the person can scratch the lice
- Write "LICE-Plague #3" and "Exodus 8:16-19" at the top of the paper.