VERSES: Exodus 17:1-7
MEMORY VERSE: Exodus 17:6 "...thou shalt smite the rock, and there shall come water out of it, that the people might drink..."
BOOK TO REMEMBER: Review the books of the entire Old Testament. Sing "The Books Of The Old Testament" (see March - Songs We Sing In Bible Class #3 on this blog).
PRAYER: Pray for rain, so that water will be plentiful for the farmers, for the animals and for us. Remember to thank God for the rain, too. Let us all be patient and kind to our family and friends and ask God to help us do that.
SPECIAL SONG: Be Patient and Kind (see April - Lesson - Joseph Meets His Brothers Who Hated Him on this blog).
VISUAL AID: Large Bible map (Perhaps made on an overhead projector - see March -Visual Aid #4), Example of Activity (see below)
LESSON POINTS:
- The huge multitude of God's people walked and walked in the wilderness. How did they know where to go? That's right! The cloud was leading them to where God wanted them to go. They stopped in a place called Rephidim, but there was no water there for the people to drink. It took a LOT of water for all those people! Remember there were over 600,000 men and that did not count the women and children.
- Because they were thirsty, the people chided or expressed their disapproval at Moses. They said to Moses, "We want water to drink. Give it to us!" That was not very nice, was it? What should the people have done? That's right! They could have been patient and quiet. God was not going to let them be thirsty forever. He was going to provide water, but He was proving the people to see if they trusted Him in providing the things that they needed. So far, they had not been very patient before when the water was bitter at Marah, were they? No. They complained. They had not been very patient before when they were hungry, were they? No. They complained. And now they are complaining again. It sounds like the children of Israel were not a very patient people.
- The people complained about Moses and asked him, "Is this why you brought us out of Egypt? To kill us?" Moses was upset with the people. He asked God, "What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to stone me!" Stoning someone meant to throw stones or rocks at someone until they died. God told Moses to go before the people, taking the elders or the leaders with him, to take his rod that he had used to strike the Red Sea in his hand, and to stand by the rock in a place called Horeb. God stood with Moses as he hit the rock and water came out of the rock. Not a little water for all those people, but a whole lot of water and not just the people needed water, but also all of their cattle and flocks! Only God could do that!
"Older Student" Tips:
- Find Rephidim and Horeb on a map. Talk about distances. If you have chosen to make an enlarged map of this area of the world in Bible times using an overhead projector, trace the steps that the Israelites traveled with a yellow marker.
- Stress the fact here that Moses struck the rock. Later, we will see that not listening to God and following his Word can have grave consequences.
Materials needed: small paper plate (6"), 5" square of dark blue construction paper, one small rock, 2" square piece of tan or white paper, tape, glue, crayons.
Note: This scene, of course, is AFTER Moses had struck the rock because there is water flowing from it.
- Pass out a small paper plate to each student.
- Around the edge of the plate, write "Moses Strikes The Rock" and "Exodus 17:1-7."
- Take blue paper and crumble it into a ball. Wrinkles are welcome.
- Unwrinkle the blue paper by pressing it with the hand.
- Tear edge of blue paper and fold it so it looks like water is coming out of a rock. (I tore my paper diagonally.)
- Glue the partially wrinkled blue paper to bottom of plate to secure in place.
- On tan or white paper, draw a 2" Moses, holding his rod in the air. (see picture below)
- Fold the bottom of Moses' robe up 1/4" or so. (see picture above)
- Place tape on the edge of Moses' robe and tape Moses to rock.
- Place rock in paper plate. You might choose to secure rock to plate using tape or glue. If you choose to use glue, it will need to dry. (I only placed the rock in the paper plate; no glue or tape. The students are careful. If the rock rolls out, it can be placed once again into the plate.)
