VERSES: Exodus 8:20-32
MEMORY VERSE: Exodus 8:21 "...and the houses of the Egyptians shall be full of swarms of flies..."
BOOK TO REMEMBER: Obadiah. Write "Obadiah" on slips of paper and hand out to the students at the end of class.
PRAYER: Thank God for creating all of nature for us to enjoy and thank Him for keeping everything in balance.
SPECIAL SONG: The Bible, The Bible (see February - Songs We Sing In Bible Class #2), Books Of The Old Testament (see March - Songs We Sing In Bible Class #3)
VISUAL AID: Whiteboard or Chalkboard Drawing of the Activity below.
EXTRA VISUAL AID: Add the word "Flies" to the "Plagues" chart from last time.
LESSON POINTS:
- After the lice were taken away by the LORD, we learned last time that Pharaoh changed his mind again and would not let the children of Israel go to the wilderness to worship God. God told Moses to get up early in the morning and stand before Pharaoh when he came to the river. God told him to tell Pharaoh again to let God's people go or God would send swarms of flies that would be on all the Egyptians and Pharaoh and their servants, but there would not be any swarms of flies in the land of Goshen where God's people were living. By not having any swarms of flies in Goshen, the Egyptians would know that God was the LORD God because God was putting a division between the Egyptians and the Israelites which He had not done before. God did what He said He would do.
- The Bible says that there came a tremendous swarm of flies in the house of Pharaoh and into his servants' houses and into all of the land of Egypt. There were so many flies that the Bible says the land was corrupted or destroyed! Pretty soon, Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron and said that the people could worship God in the land of Egypt, but that's not what God wanted. That's what Pharaoh would allow, but God did not want the people to stay in Egypt. God wanted them to go out of Egypt and into the wilderness. That's what Moses explained to Pharaoh. If they stayed in the land of Egypt and worshiped God, then the Egyptians would stone them. Moses said no, that the people needed to go three days' journey into the wilderness. Pharaoh then said that it was okay to go into the wilderness, but only if Moses asked God to take away the flies. Moses said that he would ask God, but not to be deceitful or lie about letting the children of Israel go.
- Moses asked God and God did as Moses asked. God took away all the swarms of flies from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people. There remained not one fly. But Pharaoh changed his mind and lied to Moses and would not let the people go. Pharaoh's heart was hardened. God kept His promise, but Pharaoh did not keep his promise.
"Older Student" Tips:
- Discuss the word "integrity." God has always treasured honesty and sincerity very highly. Pharaoh had none of these qualities, yet God used Pharaoh to show the Egyptians that He was the LORD God of all of the earth, including Egypt.
ACTIVITY: A Table of Flies
Materials needed: 9" x 12" construction paper (any color), a 4.5" x 10" piece of brown construction paper, small pieces of scrap paper, glue, crayons, scissors.
- Hand out pieces of 9" x 12" paper. This is the background for the picture.
- Cut the brown paper into the shape of a long table. (see picture above).
- Cut shapes of bowls, pitchers, pans, and food out of the small pieces of scrap paper.
- Glue those shapes to the top of the table.
- Write "Flies - Plague #4" and "Exodus 8:20-32" under the 'table.'.
- Make black dots for flies all over the table, food, in the air, everywhere!
