MEMORY VERSE: Numbers 12:3. "Now the man Moses was very meek, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth."
BOOK TO REMEMBER: John. Write "John" on slips of paper and hand out to the students at the end of class.
PRAYER: May we always appreciate the fact that God is in control and God knows what is best for us.
SPECIAL SONG: The Books of the Old Testament, The Books of the New Testament, and Be Careful Little Eyes, stressing the verse about being careful what we say (see March - Songs We Sing In Bible Class #3 on this blog). Be Patient And Kind is another appropriate song on this blog which you will find under April - Lesson - Joseph Meets His Brothers Who Hated Him.)
VISUAL AID: Large Miriam (see Activity below). Would be nice to have large Aaron and Moses, too.
LESSON POINTS:
- God always sees and hears everything we do. Sometimes we forget that! We say things to our friends and we forget that God is listening, too. Sometimes we do things with our friends and we forget that God is watching, too. We should always remember that we are not alone. God is watching over us and He listens to what we say.
- Do you remember Moses' sister's name? That's right! Miriam! Do you remember Moses' brother's name? That's right! Aaron was Moses' older brother! Aaron and Miriam forgot something that we just talked about. They forgot that God was listening when they complained about Moses and about his wife from a country called Ethiopia. God heard every complaining word. They were jealous of Moses and his relationship with God. They said, "Has the LORD spoken ONLY to Moses? Hasn't God also talked to us, too?" Guess who heard what Aaron and Miriam were saying? God!
- Suddenly, the LORD spoke to Moses, Aaron, and Miriam and He said, "You three come out into the tabernacle!" And they did. The LORD came down in the pillar of the cloud and stood at the door of the tabernacle. God called Aaron and Miriam and they stepped forward. God told them, "Hear my words. If there is a prophet among you, I the LORD will speak to him in a dream and a vision. I don't do that with Moses. Moses is always faithful. With him I speak directly, face to face. Why were you afraid to speak to My servant, Moses?" Now, it seems that Moses was the meekest men on the earth. Meek does not mean weak; it means to be humble, patient, and not want to fight, showing strength through patience. That sounds like Moses, doesn't it? Let's see how the LORD felt about this situation. Let's turn to Numbers 12:9. (Read verse.) Let's put our bookmarks right there. How did God feel about how Miriam and Aaron had been acting? That's right! He was angry and not just a little bit. He was VERY ANGRY! They found that when the cloud left the tabernacle, Miriam was white with leprosy.
- Do you remember that word "leprosy?" Leprosy was a dreaded disease and it had no cure unless the LORD cured it. Aaron said to Moses, " I plead with you that you do not blame us for this sin. We have done foolishly and we have sinned. Please do not let her be one that is dead with leprosy!" Moses cried unto the LORD to heal Miriam. He prayed fervently and the LORD heard Moses. He still punished Miriam and she had leprosy for seven days and had to stay outside the camp. The children of Israel did not travel during those seven days until Miriam was healed, then the people traveled on to the Promised Land, a land that flowed with milk and honey.
"Older Student" Tips:
- Jealousy makes us do terrible things. We want things that others have and we don't like that person because of that jealousy. God gets angry when we are jealous of others. He wants us to be patient and kind to others and not jealous and complaining. Read Ephesians 4:31, 32 in the New Testament.
ACTIVITY: Miriam Became Leprous
Materials needed: Stencil of a body to trace, 9" x 12" white construction paper, 9" x 12" tan construction paper, colorful napkin, black construction paper scrap, scissors, crayons, glue.
- Pass out both pieces of white and tan construction paper.
- Trace body stencil on both pieces of paper. The tan paper is Miriam complaining; the white paper is Miriam with leprosy.
- Cut both 'bodies' out.
- Fold napkin in half to fit body (without head). This is Miriam's dress.
- Trace body without head on folded napkin.
- Cut out 'dress.' When done, there should be two 'dresses', one for each side of body.
- Glue tan and white paper bodies together, so they match. It is fine if they are not exact.
- Glue a dress on each side of Miriam.
- Color faces--complaining face on tan paper, sad face on white paper.
- Write "...Miriam became leprous..." and "Lev. 12:10" on white-papered Miriam.
